Through the Years, Season 3: The Hoenn League
by Evanibble
Summary: Months after competing in the Silver Conference in Johto, 19-year old Niko travels to the Hoenn region to continue his journey. This is a story of the adventures he has throughout Hoenn with his friends, Brittany and JJ, and his younger brother, Jake. Enjoy!
1. Little roots, big adventure!

**Author's note: Hey everyone! Here it is-Season 3 of Through the Years! I'm very excited to start this particular season. Sapphire version was my first pokemon game, so there is a special place in my heart for the Hoenn region and the pokemon in it. I do hope you enjoy this first episode. If you have any comments or criticisms, feel free to shoot them my way. Now, here's the episode!**

* * *

 **Episode 1: Little roots, big adventure!**

"Niko! We're almost there!" A short brown-haired boy yelled out to his older brother, who was laying down on a red and white lounge chair. The older boy—or young adult, rather—lazily turned his head to look at his brother, who was excitedly pointing ahead of the ship.

"Oh, awesome! Thanks, Jake. I'll be back inside in a moment," Niko responded as he looked up and saw the Hoenn region come into view.

Niko—a pokémon trainer aiming to be a pokémon master—had just recently left his hometown of Pallet in Kanto to continue pursuing his newfound goal. He decided that it was best to leave behind all his captured pokémon and start fresh in a new, faraway land. Figuring that it would help him hone his training skills, Niko wanted to capture a whole new team of pokémon that would help him learn and grow as a trainer.

He also planned on challenging the Hoenn league, which was set to take place the following spring, as all pokémon leagues usually did. To qualify, he would need to obtain eight gym badges from pokémon gyms all over the region. He already knew of one—Norman from the Petalburg gym. He and his friends met Norman while journeying through Johto, in Olivine City to be exact. It was him that gave Niko and his friends the idea of travelling to Hoenn in the first place.

Niko sat up, looking at the region beyond. He was excited to begin anew. After finishing in the Top 8 in the Silver Conference in Johto, he had felt a new—and refreshing—wave of confidence in himself. Never really being the type of person with high self-esteem, it was an unfamiliar feeling, but it certainly felt good.

He got up and began walking towards the room he was sharing with his two friends and his brother. On the way, he kept thinking of what he left behind and the infinite possibilities of what lay before him.

"Niko! Hey!" JJ said, turning to his brown-haired friend. Niko nodded, took off his sunglasses, and began to pack up his things. "Excited to get to Hoenn?"

"Heh, you bet," Niko responded, turning to look at his curly-blonde friend.

JJ was one of Niko's oldest friends. Along with their mutual friend, Fay, the three had travelled through Kanto and Johto together. JJ originally wanted to challenge gyms with his two friends, but decided against it after losing to Brock badly. Since then, he has been aspiring to be a pokémon breeder, and that new goal is reflected in his choice of pokémon. JJ's first pokémon—umbreon—is his closest and most loyal friend. He has also had a knack for raising pokémon from birth, or baby pokémon more generally. In Kanto, he raised his growlithe from an egg; in Johto, he caught an azurill, which is typically classified as a baby pokémon, and has been raising it ever since. Like Niko, JJ also enjoys travelling, and had been after Niko about going to Hoenn all of the previous summer.

Also like Niko, JJ is leaving people behind, too. While he decided to take most of his pokémon, he left behind one—his beedrill—to help his family out. He is also leaving behind a love interest—Maizie, whom he met while travelling in Johto.

Niko pondered all of this as he was packing, wondering how JJ was coping with it. It would be months before he saw any of them again. _He'll probably be alright, he's done it before, anyways_ he thought. He finished packing and turned around, nearly running into another one of his friends.

"Brittany! Hey!" Niko said as he was inches away from his brunette friend.

"Hey Niko! Sorry…" she said as she sidestepped her friend and continued over to her bed to finish her packing. Niko nodded nervously as he looked around for anything he may have left unpacked.

Niko and his friends met Brittany while journeying through Kanto. After joining them, the brunette with hazel eyes has been with them ever since. A native of Vermilion City, Brittany had no real goal or dream in mind for much of their journey. It wasn't until she met an old couple who ran a daycare center in Johto that she began to consider being a pokémon breeder, like JJ. Since then she has been raising a small pichu that she hatched from an egg, alongside her two other pokémon, wartortle and tangela.

Brittany has always been the most outwardly supportive person of Niko's—besides his family, of course. During both of his league challenges, she was constantly asking him how he felt and how he thought he did in a battle. This stems from the Indigo League, when after losing in the Top 32, Niko broke down and thought about giving up. Brittany was there to console him and get him back on track, which culminated in travelling to Johto, where she continued to give him support, either tacitly or vocally. At the end of Niko's journey in Johto, she confessed her feelings to him, which he did not respond nicely to. This created a rift in their friendship that had only recently patched up on the day they decided to travel to Hoenn. During the few days of their voyage to Hoenn, the two seemed to be getting along quite well, acting as if nothing had happened between them.

"Jake, are you all packed up?" Niko asked as he sat down on his bed. His younger brother—staying in the bed opposite Niko—looked up and nodded.

Jake was Niko's brother, eight years his junior. Like Niko, Jake was very interested in becoming a pokémon trainer, but was far more eager to begin his journey than Niko had been. Whenever Niko came home with new pokémon, the two would train together with Niko showing him the moves he taught his teams and some of the strategies he had used in the past. Jake was enamored by all of it, which propelled him to persuade his parents to let him travel with his older brother in Hoenn. Their parents agreed on the condition that Niko would as well. Knowing how much it would mean to Jake, Niko accepted, albeit hesitantly. Secretly, though, Niko was excited to have his brother along, even if it meant more responsibility for him.

The ship finally landed in Littleroot Town, and the four trainers eagerly got off the ship and looked around. From what they could see, the Hoenn region was already beautiful.

"So, where did Oak say Professor Birch lived?" Brittany asked as they looked around.

"He said the lab is on the outskirts of town, so I guess we have to head in that direction?" Niko replied, pointing north. Brittany nodded, and the four continued walking.

Throughout the city, the group noticed dozens of unfamiliar pokémon. There was a large green gecko-like pokémon battling a black dog. Niko stopped for a moment to watch the two battle. The gecko's arms began to glow and shift into the form of a blade as it slashed at the dog, who responded by biting onto the blade itself and attempting to toss the gecko aside. The latter wouldn't let up, and completed the attack before releasing its arms from the dog's mouth.

"That green pokémon is pretty strong, what is it?" Jake asked.

"No idea," Niko said, grinning. They continued on when the battle ended, with the gecko ultimately winning.

The group finally reached the edge of town, where the lab sat at the edge of a moderately large hill. Walking up to the door, they noticed it was locked.

"Out for business—be back soon! -Professor Birch," it read.

"Should we just wait then?" JJ asked.

"Guess so…" Niko replied as he sat down on a nearby bench with Jake. As soon as he touched the bench, they all heard a man cry out. "Did you hear that?"

"Yeah, it came from down that hill. Let's go check it out!" JJ said, clutching to azurill as he ran down the hill with Niko, Brittany, and Jake.

They got to the bottom of the hill and continued running down the road beyond Littleroot Town, eventually finding a tall, brown-haired and bearded man up against a tree surrounded by black dogs of varying sizes.

"Sir! Are you alright?" Niko yelled out. The man turned to the group with a rather terrified look on his face. And nodded weakly, turning back to the dogs. "Guys, we have to help him…I don't have any pokémon though…"

"Niko, we got this," JJ said, pulling out a pokéball while still holding azurill. "Growlithe, let's go! Use flame wheel!"

"Tangela, use vine whip!" Brittany shouted, summoning her grass type. The two rushed at the dogs, the flame wheel initially scaring them and the vine whip shooing them away.

The tall man turned to them with a look of relief on his face. "Wow…thanks kids! I don't know why, but I always end up getting myself into these situations. You'd think, since I give pokémon to trainers that I would have some of my own."

"Oh!" Brittany exclaimed. "Are you Professor Birch?"

"Yes, I am! And who might my saviors be?"

"My name is Brittany, and these are my friends Niko, JJ, and Jake. We're travelling here from the Kanto region."

"Oh! Yes yes, Oak told me you would be stopping by today. What a great coincidence this is! Follow me up to my lab, then."

Birch led the group back up the hill to his lab. Inside it looked similar to Oak's and Elm's, with shelves upon shelves of books and a healing machine in the back, near what looked like the Professor's desk. Birch walked them over to another desk, where three pokéballs sat.

"Professor Oak told me a bit about yourselves. Brittany and JJ, you both wish to be pokémon breeders, correct?"

"Yes, sir," the two answered almost simultaneously.

"Awesome. We have a daycare center up near Mauville City, I think you both would enjoy checking it out. Jake, you're a completely new trainer, correct?" Jake nodded happily. "Excellent. I think you'll love the region and the pokémon in it. Now, Niko…" Birch said as he turned to the brown-haired trainer. "Oak tells me you're challenging pokémon gyms, correct?"

"Yeah. I just competed in the Silver Conference, actually."

"And he got Top 8!" JJ exclaimed. Niko beamed at his friend.

"Well done, Niko! Then I'm sure you'll enjoy challenging the gyms here in Hoenn. I must warn you, though, they're pretty tough."

"If they're anything like Johto's, then I'll believe it," Niko—who lost to two Johto gym leaders and tied a third one—quipped.

"I can assure you that they will offer quite the challenge. The nearest one is in Petalburg City, which is Norman's gym. But I'll warn you—he doesn't usually accept challenges from new trainers."

"Well, I'm not exactly 'new,'" Niko responded.

"This is true," Birch said with a warm smile. "Anyways, here I have three pokéballs. These are usually what I give out to new trainers, but since you've travelled from far away, and some of you left your pokémon back at home," Birch turned to Niko, "then I am allowing you each to take one."

"Wait…" Brittany said, "there's four of us, and three pokéballs."

The group turned to look at each other. One of them wouldn't get a new pokémon.

"Well, Niko definitely needs a pokémon," JJ finally said, "and I think Jake should get one, since he is a new trainer. That leaves you and me, then,"

"You take it!" Brittany and JJ both said at the same time. "No… _you_ take it!" They continued.

Birch laughed at this exchange." Alright, let's let Niko and Jake choose first, and then we can deal with the issue of the third pokémon," he said as he took each of the pokéballs and released them.

Out of the three pokéballs came a small green gecko, an orange chicken, and a small, blue mud fish. "Here we have treecko, torchic, and mudkip. They are grass, fire, and water types, respectively," Birch said, pointing to each one in turn.

Niko crouched down as Jake got on his knees as they observed the three pokémon. Niko—remembering the battle between the gecko and the dog earlier—stared at treecko for a long while before ultimately choosing it.

"I choose treecko," he said, standing back up.

"Excellent choice. This particular treecko is a wonderful pokémon. It has shown an interest in battling, so I think it will suit you perfectly, Niko. Now, Jake, which one would you like?"

"Now, Jake, remember that there is no such thing as a bad choice here," Niko told his brother, "Your first pokémon is chosen out of instinct. That's how mine was, at least," he looked at treecko, "and clearly that's how this one was chosen, too."

"I want mudkip!" Jake said, standing back up, the mud fish pokémon in his arms.

Birch handed him mudkip's pokéball. "Great choice, Jake! This mudkip is a very friendly pokémon. Not as interested in battling as treecko is, but it looks like it is a very loyal little guy. I think you two will be fast friends," Birch then turned to Brittany and JJ, who were both eying the torchic. "Now, would either of you want to take the torchic?"

Almost without thought, JJ quickly replied. "Brittany should, if she wants to."

"What, JJ? Why me?"

JJ turned to Brittany, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I want you to. I think it would be a great addition to your team. Plus, it'll give you some more practice with raising young pokémon. I say you take it!" He ended with a fist pump in the air. Brittany smiled and side-hugged JJ before looking down at the torchic.

"Hello there, my name is Brittany, and I was wondering if you wanted to join me on my adventures."

The chick pokémon chirped happily, albeit still in a soft tone.

"This torchic is rather quiet, but it loves attention. Perfect choice for a pokémon breeder, I think," Birch said as he handed Brittany the pokéball. "Now," he turned around and grabbed four small cell phone-like objects. "Here are your pokédexes. As you might know, they give information on a pokémon, including their type and species, as well as some information about them. I'm not looking for anyone to tell me information on _every_ pokémon out there, as I've already got research assistants helping me with that, but if you come across anything that looks out of the ordinary, feel free to drop me a line, alright?"

"You bet, professor!" Niko said. "And thanks. I can't wait to get going!"

Birch grinned. "Of course, Niko!" And best of luck to you in your gym challenge. I look forward to seeing how far you go with it! Brittany, JJ, best of luck in raising pokémon. Jake, good luck to you as well. I'm excited to see what kinds of pokémon you get to befriend here."

The group said farewell to Birch as they exited the lab and looked ahead of them.

"So…shall we?" Niko said, motioning down the hill.

"We shall," JJ replied as the four walked down the hill, their new adventure having just begun.


	2. Meeting Melinda

**Episode 2: Meeting Melinda**

" _Treecko, the wood gecko pokémon. Grass type. Treecko is cool, calm, and collected—it never panics under any situation. If a bigger foe were to glare at this pokémon, it would glare right back without conceding an inch of ground_."

" _Torchic, the chick pokémon. Fire type. If attacked, it strikes back by spitting balls of fire it forms in its stomach. A torchic dislikes darkness because it can't see its surroundings_."

" _Mudkip, the mud fish pokémon. Water type. In water, mudkip breathes using the gills on its cheeks. If it is faced with a tight situation in battle, this pokémon will unleash its amazing power—it can crush rocks bigger than itself_."

"Look Niko! My mudkip is stronger than your treecko!" Jake teased eagerly. The group had sat down for a quick lunch before moving along on their journey, reading the pokédex entries of their three newest pokémon while they were resting. They didn't have a map for their journey yet, nor one of those trusty pamphlets that JJ used. However, they figured that travelling north would eventually get them somewhere.

"Well Jake, treecko is a grass type, and is strong against water types. You know that," Niko responded in a professorial tone.

"But mudkip crush WHOLE ROCKS!" The young boy said excitedly, throwing his arms into the air for emphasis.

"Well, maybe we'll need to test that strength out then, shall we?" Niko said as he got up. "Hey, treecko!" He said, beckoning his new pokémon to come and join him. "Want to battle?"

The wood gecko turned to its trainer and nodded eagerly, running over from the tree trunk it was laying against.

"Wait, Niko you want to battle?" Jake asked, eager as ever.

"You betcha!" Niko winked, "Now, you gonna fight me or what?"

"Of course! Mudkip, let's go!" Jake said, motioning over his water type. "So…mudkip, what _do_ you know?" Jake opened his pokédex and read more about mudkip's moveset. "So…tackle. Let's use tackle!"

Niko did the same with treecko, discovering that the grass type knew pound. "Treecko, use pound on mudkip!"

The wood gecko pokémon leapt into the air with surprising grace. It then somersaulted through the air and slammed its tail atop mudkip's head, just in front of the fin. The water type fell face-first into the ground ad treecko landed on two feet.

"Mudkip, turn around and use tackle!" Jake commanded. The water type got back up immediately and rushed at its opponent, who merely slapped the mud fish with its dark green tail once again. Mudkip fell to the side, not defeated but not willing to continue the fight. "Mudkip…?" Jake said as he walked over to his first pokémon. "Are you alright?"

"It looks like mudkip doesn't really want to fight right now, Jake," Niko said as he and treecko walked over. The wood gecko placed its hand on mudkip's head and smiled warmly at it, as if to say that everything was fine between them. Mudkip smiled in return, but jumped into Jake's arms and sat there for a while.

* * *

The group packed up and got back on the road. After walking for an hour or so, they noticed a young woman running around with a seagull-like bird. She looked to be about as tall as Brittany, with long, straight black hair, glasses, and light freckles on her face. She wore slim black jeans and a white dress shirt with tiny black speckles on it. She looked to be roughly Niko's age, but he wasn't able to confirm that.

"Niko…who's that?" Jake asked, whispering.

"I don't know, Jake! Some woman, I guess…" Niko replied, looking at his brother with confusion.

"Maybe we should see what she's up to?" Brittany suggested. "She looks friendly."

"I can hear you," the woman turned to look at the four trainers standing in front of her. "I swear I don't bite…most of the time," she finished with a wink. "Name's Melinda. Who are you four?"

Niko gulped. "Well, I'm Niko. These are my friends Brittany and JJ, and this is my younger brother, Jake. We just arrived in the Hoenn region."

"Oh, really? From where?" Melinda asked, sitting down on a nearby log, her bird perched on her shoulder.

"Pallet Town in Kanto," Niko responded. He was getting an odd vibe from Melinda, but figured it best not to say anything about it. He found it strange that she was striking up conversation with them seemingly out of nowhere.

"Oh, Kanto!" Melinda said with familiarity in her voice. "My parents are from Kanto…I think. Can't remember. Anyways, what're you all doing in Hoenn?"

"Travelling," Brittany responded rather curtly. "Niko is challenging gyms and we're all just here to see the world. I'm thinking of being a pokémon breeder."

Melinda raised an eyebrow. "Gyms, eh? You a strong trainer?"

"Well, I'm not…no," Niko replied nervously. "I want to get better, though, so that's why I'm here."

"Good for you, Niko," Melinda said, turning to her bird. "Wingull and I are thinking of challenging gyms, too, actually. Never have, though. Say, how old are you guys?"

"I just turned 19. JJ is also 19, Jake is 11, and Brittany is…" Niko paused. He forgot how old his brunette friend was. Embarrassed, he looked down at the ground. Fortunately for him, neither Melinda nor Brittany seemed to care, at least on the outside.

"I'm 17, actually," Brittany replied with a grin. "How old are you, Melinda?"

"I'm 20, turning 21 soon," Melinda responded. "I worked as an assistant for Nurse Joy for a while before deciding that I needed a break from medicine. That's when I started travelling. Right, wingull?"

The bird nodded happily, rubbing the side of Melinda's cheek with its beak. Curious, Jake pulled out his pokédex to get more information on this wingull:

" _Wingull, the seagull pokémon. Water and flying type. Wingull has the habit of carrying prey and valuables in its beak and hiding them in all sorts of locations. This pokémon rides the winds and flies as if it were skating across the sky_."

"That's a cool pokémon!" Jake said, complimenting the little bird.

"Thanks," Melinda replied, petting wingull. "He's a cutie, isn't he? We've been friends forever," Melinda then got off the log she had been sitting on and looked directly at Niko. "Say, since we're both challenging gyms, how about a battle?"

Niko grinned, looking down at treecko, who had been walking with him most of the day. He turned back to Melinda. "Absolutely. Treecko, you ready?" The wood gecko nodded, leaping in front of its trainer, ready to battle.

"Perfecto! Wingull, I choose you!" Melinda shouted as wingull flew in front of her. "Use water gun!"

"Treecko, dodge the move and respond with pound!" Niko commanded. Treecko then leapt into the air, dodging the burst of water and somersaulting, slamming its tail atop wingull. The water type fell towards the ground, but was able to catch itself in midair, minimizing the damage it would have taken otherwise.

"Wingull, water gun again!" Melinda shouted. The seagull pokémon looked upwards at treecko, who had taken refuge in a nearby tree, and shot another burst of water in its direction. Treecko dodged the attack by leaping over to the branch of another tree. Wingull continuously shot water guns at treecko, who kept dodging them by shifting around in the trees, the seagull pokémon on its tail.

"Treecko, keep it up!" Niko shouted, watching his grass type avoid the water guns. "Now, turn around and use pound!"

Treecko jumped off a tree towards a high-hanging branch, grabbed onto its with its hands and swung around the branch, turning around and attempting to slam its tail onto wingull. The pound missed, and wingull finally managed to land a water gun. The wood gecko fell to the floor of the forest, crashing on the log that Melinda had only been sitting on minutes prior.

"Wingull, finish it off with wing attack!" Melinda commanded, pointing down at treecko, who was trying to get itself off the log.

"Treecko, you have to get up and dodge the attack!" Niko shouted, almost desperately. It was too late, though. Wingull was diving towards its opponent, wings spread out wide and glowing as it crashed into the wood gecko, nearly breaking the log. Both pokémon rolled off the log and onto the ground, but only wingull was able to get back up.

"Wingull, are you alright?" Melinda asked as she caressed her seagull pokémon. She then turned to treecko, who was now in Niko's arms.

"Treecko!" Niko said with a concerned tone. "Do you know where the nearest pokémon center is?"

"In Oldale Town, just north of here," Melinda replied. "C'mon, I'll go with you."

The five trainers then raced down the path to Oldale Town. Fortunately, the pokémon center was the first building they saw. Niko rushed in, Melinda and wingull behind him, as he ran up to Nurse Joy.

"Can you heal my treecko? It was pretty damaged in a battle just now."

Nurse Joy nodded with a warm smile as she took treecko and its pokéball and brought it into a nearby bed, where it would lay down while Joy and her chansey would heal it up.

While treecko was being treated, Niko, his friends, and Melinda sat down to have dinner, as the sun was setting by the time they reached Oldale Town.

"Niko," Melinda began, "I'm sorry about that. I guess I just got carried away, that's all."

Niko put a hand up in front of him. "No worries, Melinda. That's what being a trainer is about. You get used to these things. However, I don't think treecko was strong enough for that wingull."

Melinda laughed. "That's true. You're right. Anyways, I'm going to go check on wingull. I'll be back."

She got up from the table and strode over to the room where wingull and treecko were being kept. Niko then turned to his friends, looking bemused.

"She's…and odd person."

"Yeah, I'm not sure what to make of her yet," JJ responded, turning back to his burger.

"I think she's pretty nice, actually," Brittany commented, looking in the direction that Melinda had walked. "She's…spunky? Maybe that's not the right word to describe her, but I definitely think she's cool."

"Well, we'll see. I definitely want to re-match her. Maybe not now, but when treecko gets a little stronger," Niko said. He sounded more mature than he felt at the time, however. He didn't admit it, but that battle with wingull worried Niko. Treecko clearly liked to battle, but it couldn't take a hit to save its life. If the Hoenn gyms were as tough as Birch suggested, then Niko would have to work with his new pokémon quite a lot before their first gym battle, which might be against Norman.

Melinda returned with wingull perched on her shoulder. "Hey, Niko, treecko is ready now. It seems to feel better."

Niko looked up, smiling at his new rival as he got out of their booth and walked over to treecko's room. Walking inside, he saw the wood gecko sitting up on the edge of a bed, looking up at its trainer.

"Hey buddy, feeling better?" Niko said as he sat down next to the little gecko. Treecko nodded, although it looked a little sad as it did so. "You're not happy that you lost, correct?" Treecko nodded again, this time looking away from its trainer. "Losing is tough, dude. I get that. Let's just promise to get better, alright? One day, you and I will beat Melinda and that wingull, got it?"

This pep talk seemed to lift treecko's spirits a little bit. The two then left the room and rejoined their friends back at their booth. Melinda got up, as if she was about to leave.

"Hey Niko, treecko," the black-haired trainer said, adjusting her glasses a little. "Wingull and I are getting ready to go. But next time we meet up again, let's have a rematch, got it?"

Niko nodded, holding out his hand. "You bet. Say, how far is Petalburg City from here?"

"About a day's travel. It's surprisingly close. Why?"

"Curious. We know someone there."

"Ah, I see. Well, have fun reuniting with your friend. See ya guys!" Melinda said as she waved to Brittany, JJ, and Jake, exiting the pokémon center only moments later. Niko sat down next to his brother, looking back at the exit.

"Looks like you've got yourself a rival, Niko," JJ grinned, sitting back in the booth.

"Guess so. What a day this has been," he commented as he proceeded to finish his salad. The group then walked into one of the rooms provided by the pokémon center and threw themselves into bed. Niko was right: it had indeed been a long day.


	3. Mingling with Ralts!

**Episode 3: Mingling with Ralts!**

"Treecko, let's use pound again, but try getting off the ground quicker, alright?" Niko suggested as he paced back and forth. Ever since his battle with Melinda, Niko has been determined to train treecko.

The road to Petalburg City wouldn't take long, according to Melinda, and since no one was in any particular rush to get there, Niko figured he would take some time to do some training with his new pokémon. Jake wanted to battle Niko again, but in the aftermath of their last battle, it seemed that his mudkip didn't agree.

Meanwhile, JJ and Brittany were watching Jake and mudkip play with their pokémon while putting together lunch. They had purchased some supplies in Oldale Town, but there wasn't much to choose from (the town is a rather small one), so they settled with sandwiches and the like, hoping that Petalburg would offer more variety in their shopping options.

"Alright treecko, that's better," Niko told his grass type as it landed a successful pound on a tree branch. "Let's take a break now, alright?" He motioned the wood gecko over to their campsite. "So, we'll make it to Petalburg City by tomorrow. Sorry I took so much of our time today training."

Brittany waved Niko away. "Don't worry, no one here needs to be anywhere anytime soon, I don't know why you're apologizing," the brunette grinned. "Anyways, what do _you_ plan to do there?"

"Yeah Niko, where exactly are we headed?" JJ added.

"Well, Norman said he lives in Petalburg, right? And he also mentioned that he's a gym leader there, so I figured we go and check it out. Maybe I'll challenge him, if he'll accept."

"But are you ready to? You've only had one battle so far, and you lost pretty badly," Brittany commented. Niko beamed at her, a frown on his face.

"Well, yeah I did. It was just a thought. Besides, we'll need to get some more food, and maybe a map too, right JJ?"

The curly blonde nodded before getting back to his food.

"Jake, how are you doing so far? You haven't talked much today," Niko turned to his little brother.

"Everything's great, Niko! I'm having fun watching you train actually."

"Well, get used to it then. I try to do it every day," Niko ruffled his brother's hair before continuing with his sandwich.

* * *

The following morning the group reached Petalburg City. For a city that wasn't near a coast, it had the same feel as one. Niko felt relieved—he always enjoyed visiting coastal cities, even if Petalburg wasn't one in reality.

They immediately went to the pokémon center to check themselves in and for Niko to allow treecko to rest, since the two had done plenty of training both the day prior and the following morning. While they were eating, JJ went and asked Nurse Joy if they gave out maps and pamphlets of the region.

"Turns out they don't. However, they do have these things called pokénavs, which are basically a map and a phone in one, with some other applications on it. Sounds neat, anyways," JJ explained.

"Where do we get one of these?" Brittany asked.

"Well, Nurse Joy did mention that the pokémart might have them, but since a new model just came out, they might have sold out already."

"That's a bummer. Say, you guys want to go check out the gym?" Niko suggested. When his three companions didn't oppose the idea, Niko got up to grab treecko and head for the gym, with his friends following.

The Petalburg gym looked like any ordinary building. Walking inside, though, it resembled a dojo. In the center of the wooden battlefield stood a tall black-haired man speaking with a green-haired boy who looked roughly Jake's age. Having heard the door shut, both of them looked up from their conversation to see the four trainers standing at the door.

"Hello? May I help you kids?" The older man, whom Niko recognized to be Norman, asked.

"Hi, my name is Niko, these are my friends Brittany and JJ, and my brother, Jake. We are new to Hoenn and just wanted to check out the gym."

Norman stood there for a moment, pondering something. "Did I meet you three in Johto once?" The three older trainers nodded. "That's what I thought. Wasn't there a fourth guy with you?"

"He decided to become a researcher, actually," Niko replied, wondering at that moment what Fay was up to.

"Oh, a great profession. Anyways, how can I help you guys?"

Niko stepped forward, as he was the only one with the agenda in his group. "I plan on challenging the gyms here in Hoenn, and I was wondering if you could tell me more about it."

"Oh, no worries Niko. As with most regions, the Hoenn region has eight gyms that trainers usually go to. This is one of them. The closest gym to this one would have to be the Rustboro gym. It's just northwest of here. The leader, Roxanne, uses rock type pokémon. I, on the other hand, use normal types, and I typically only accept challengers who have gotten five badges already."

"Why is that? Why can't I challenge you now?" Niko asked.

"My pokémon are, well, too strong for new trainers. But, if you want to see what I'm about, I can show you what I mean."

Niko thought about it for a few moments. He didn't know _how_ strong Norman was, and so didn't want to risk treecko getting too injured by it. Eventually, he shook his head.

"No, you're right. I should wait. I only have my treecko, and it isn't trained up enough to really compete against a gym leader yet. Sorry…"

"Niko, why are you apologizing? Normally new trainers would want to challenge me early on," Norman explained.

"Well, I guess I just want to battle when I know I'm ready to."

Niko did feel a little odd about turning down the request, as much as he didn't want to admit it. Knowing that most trainers prematurely challenged Norman made him wonder if maybe he was making a mistake in not doing so. He tried to push this thought away as he thought of what to say next.

"Oh, Niko," Norman finally said after several moments of silence. "I'd like you to meet Wally," the gym leader said, turning to the green-haired boy. "Wally has shown interest in being a trainer. Since you've got some experience, would you mind helping him out a bit?"

"Yeah, of course! Hi, I'm Niko."

"Hi Niko, I'm Wally. It's nice to meet you," Wally responded, returning Niko's handshake. He seemed shy, due to his rather quiet voice.

"I'll let you kids be. If you have any more questions, feel free to stop on by, alright?"

"Thanks Norman, I'll keep that in mind," Niko said, motioning Wally to the door. "C'mon Wally, let's go outside and talk."

The group plus Wally exited the gym. They talked for a bit about each other, going through the typical formalities of introductions. Wally is from Petalburg City, with family in Verdanturf. He decided to become a trainer after watching the previous Hoenn League in Ever Grande City. Having no pokémon of his own, he wanted to go and catch one on his own.

"Why don't you head down to Littleroot Town and get one from Professor Birch?" Brittany asked. "That's where we all got ours."

"I'd rather find my first pokémon on my own. I-I mean, Professor Birch's pokémon aren't bad or a-anything, I-I just want to catch one that I like. Y-y'know?"

"Of course," Brittany replied warmly. "Let's leave the city for a bit and see what we can find!"

Everyone nodded at this and walked into the forest beyond Petalburg. They continued walking until Wally found a small worm-like pokémon.

"What's that?" Jake asked, looking curiously at the worm.

"Oh, that's a wurmple, Jake," Wally said matter-of-factly. "They're bug types that can evolve into two different kinds of pokémon, depending on the conditions."

"What kind of conditions?" Asked JJ.

"Usually their personality. It's certainly an odd pokémon. Oh, and that's a poochyena over there," Wally said, pointing to a little black dog.

"So that's what Professor Birch was attacked by," Niko said, "I wonder if it's related to that other black dog we saw in Littleroot Town…"

"You might be talking about Mightyena," Wally replied. "It evolves from poochyena."

Niko silently mouthed an "ah" before continuing to look around for a pokémon that would interest Wally.

"So, Wally, what kind of pokémon do you like?" JJ wondered.

"Well..." Wally said, scratching his chin, "I guess quiet ones? The kind of pokémon that would not be too excitable all the time. I guess…maybe just a chill pokémon?"

"I see what you mean. Maybe one that reflects your personality?" Niko commented. Wally nodded shyly.

"Is that bad?"

"No! Of course not!" Niko exclaimed. "Most trainers usually find pokémon that are like them. It's perfectly normal."

"Was your first pokémon like you?"

Niko smiled, thinking fondly of venusaur. "Yeah…I'd say venusaur is kind of like me. It's determined to win. Actually, I'd say venusaur is a better pokémon than I am human."

"You have a venusaur?" Wally said, clearly excited by this. When Niko nodded, Wally's eyes seemed to pop out of his head in awe. For such a quiet boy, he seemed excitable still. "That's really cool!"

"Heh, thanks. Maybe one day you could meet it," Niko said, patting Wally on the shoulder. "Anyways, let's get back to looking for a pokémon."

The five continued through the forest for what seemed like forever, passing by the occasional wurmple and poochyena. Eventually Wally sat down in a clearing, looking down at the leaves on the ground.

"Forget it," the green-haired boy muttered. "I don't know what I'm looking for anyways. Thanks for helping, but you don't have to stick around anymore."

"What? No…" Brittany replied, sitting down next to Wally. "You're going to find a pokémon that fits you. Even if it isn't today, or tomorrow, I promise you that you'll find something! Just don't give up, alright?"

Wally gave Brittany a sad look before gazing around at the clearing. "I guess so…I just don't want you guys to be wasting your time."

"We're not wasting anyone's time here, Wally," JJ said, sitting on Wally's other side. "We're new to Hoenn, and I for one am enjoying the opportunity to explore it. I uh…love doing it, you know?"

Wally smiled and nodded. "Alright, let's keep looking."

It was when he stood up, however, that he saw a tiny little pokémon peering at him from behind a nearby tree. It was a tiny little pokémon in what looked like a white dress that was too big for it. It had green hair that looked akin to a bowl cut and two flat, red horns protruding from the top of its head that run from front to back along its head.

"What's that…?" Niko asked, pulling out his pokédex:

" _Ralts, the feeling pokémon. Psychic type. A ralts has the power to sense the emotions of people and pokémon with the horns on its head. It takes cover if it senses hostility_."

"I like it," Wally said simply, before getting on his knees and softly motioning the ralts over. "Hey there fella, how are you?"

The ralts looked at Wally, and then at the group, and hid behind the tree, perhaps out of shock from so many people around it.

"Let's leave Wally alone for a bit…" Brittany suggested, shoving Niko and JJ away from the clearing, Jake in tow. Once out of sight, they watched from behind a set of trees Wally befriending the ralts. At first, it took ages for the psychic type to even approach Wally. However, once it did it seemed to feel oddly comfortable. Interestingly enough, so did Wally.

Eventually, the green-haired trainer managed to pull out a pokéball and show it to ralts, who backed away and began to run out of the clearing. Wally called out, stopping the psychic pokémon from fleeing any further. It turned to looked up at Wally, who was now standing up and looking down at ralts. From a stranger's perspective, it almost looked like the two had finished having a heated argument, since their expressions had the shape of determination. However, ralts moved closer to Wally as the latter sat back down on his knees and held the pokéball out again. The feeling pokémon lightly touched the center of the ball before turning a bright red color and disappearing into the pokéball. The ball shook softly in Wally's hands a couple times before clicking, signaling that ralts had been caught.

"Yay! I caught a ralts!" Wally shouted, thrusting his hand high above him. The group all ran out from behind the tree and congratulated him.

"Nice job, Wally. You're a pokémon trainer now," Niko said, patting Wally's shoulder. "Let's go show Norman."

* * *

"Excellent job, Wally. Your parents will be very proud of you," Norman said as he examined the ralts that sat in Wally's arms.

"Thank you, Mr. Norman. Also, I think I'll challenge the gyms as well, just like Niko!" Wally exclaimed happily. He kind of reminded Niko of him, Fay, and JJ only a couple years ago. It was nice to see young kids so filled with happiness and determination to do well.

"That's great to hear, but you should tell your parents first, of course. And, like I told Niko earlier, the nearest gym is in Rustboro. You'd do well to choose that gym first, as it is typically the easiest for new trainers to challenge. That, or the Dewford Town gym, particularly if you own a psychic type like ralts."

"Of course, and thanks for the help, Niko!" Wally. "I've got to get going, but I hope I'll see you around!"

"Yeah, of course Wally!" Niko responded, holding out his hand. "And hey, let's battle next time. I'd love to see how well you train that ralts of yours."

Wally smiled. "Of course! You're on, right ralts?" The feeling pokémon raised its tiny hands in the air excitedly. "Heh. Anyways, see you!"

With that, the green-haired boy rushed out of the Petalburg gym and off to his home. Turning back toward Norman, JJ was the first to speak.

"Norman, I heard Nurse Joy tell us about these things called pokénavs. She also said that they might be sold out. Do you have any advice on where to get one?"

"Oh, yeah. The newest model just came out, and as you can imagine they're selling pretty fast. If you want one, you can use my old one. Here," Norman said as he motioned JJ into his back room where he pulled an old, yellow-orange gadget from a desk drawer and handed it to the curly blonde trainer. "But if you want a newer model, I'd suggest heading to the manufacturer's headquarters in Rustboro City. The Devon Corporation is there, and their CEO, Steven Stone, might be able to help you. Obviously, he's busy as can be, but if you would like a new model, maybe I could put in a word for you."

"That'd be great, actually. Thanks!" JJ said, looking at the pokénav. "So, uh how does it work?"

Norman then went through a short tutorial of the technology, showing JJ how to pull up the map, how to add contacts, and the like. JJ then turned to his friends.

"It looks like Rustboro City is a week away from here. We'll just need to head through the Petalburg Forest, and then north after that. Doesn't sound too bad, actually."

"It isn't," Norman commented, "And Roxanne is a very nice woman. I'm sure you'll enjoy battling her."

"I sure hope so. We should also get going. I'm getting pretty hungry!" Niko suggested. "Thanks for everything, Norman!"

"The pleasure is all mine. And remember—when you have four gym badges, I suggest you stop by this gym. I will challenge you then."

"I look forward to it. See ya!" Niko said as he and his friends waved to Norman as they left the Petalburg gym, their next destination clearer than ever, and a new friend (and potential rival) made in the process.


	4. The swallow thief

**Author's Note: Hey all, sorry for the rather short episode, got writer's block about midway through. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Episode 4: The swallow thief**

After their visit to Norman in Petalburg City, the group finally had a destination in mind—Rustboro City, where Niko would challenge Roxanne for his first Hoenn gym badge. As they were leaving the city the following morning, Niko felt confident about winning. However, with the knowledge that Roxanne uses rock types, he realized he would need to teach treecko some other moves, preferably of the grass variety.

"Watcha doing, Niko?" Jake asked as he sat down next to his brother, mudkip in his arms. Treecko was off perfecting its pound attack on some beach rocks. The group had made it to the western coast of Hoenn around midday, and were taking a break to enjoy the environment.

"I'm trying to look for some moves that I can teach treecko. Roxanne uses rock types, and treecko will need to know a grass move if I have any chance of beating her."

"That's true. Hey, if you need to, you can borrow my mudkip for the battle. It doesn't know any water moves yet, but it can _crush_ rocks!" Jake said excitedly, still remembering mudkip's pokédex entry.

Niko chuckled. "Well, if I need to I'll definitely let you know, Jake. Thanks!" Niko said as he perused treecko's pokédex entry. "So…treecko can learn absorb…that's the most basic grass move it can use. What does it do?" He asked himself.

"It takes away the health of your opponent," Jake said in a very matter-of-fact tone.

"Ah, makes sense. Now…how to teach that…" Niko pondered this for some time, all while watching treecko pound rocks with its tail. It was certainly getting better, but the pound wasn't strong enough on its own to break a rock. It would need to know iron tail to do that.

He turned to his right and saw Brittany and JJ play with their pokémon in the sand. Then the idea hit him!

"Treecko!" Niko called out to his wood gecko pokémon, who landed back on its feet after another pound attack and turned to its trainer. "Come here, I've got something for you," he waited until the grass type was in front of him to tell him the news. "I'm going to try teaching you a new move. You ready for it? Great!" Niko exclaimed after seeing his pokémon nod excitedly. "Alright, it's called absorb. I've got an idea on how to teach it to you, but it might take some time," Niko then turned to JJ. "Hey, JJ! Could you help me with something?"

"Sure Niko, uh what's up?" JJ asked as he and umbreon walked over to Niko and treecko.

"I'm trying to teach treecko absorb, but I need someone to test it on. Do you mind helping me out a bit?"

"Sure thing, Niko! I'd be happy to," JJ replied, looking down at umbreon. "Do you want to have an actual battle?"

"Yeah, let's do that," Niko said. "Treecko, we're going to fight this umbreon, alright? You ready?" Niko looked down at treecko, who nodded without looking back. "Excellent. Now treecko, let's start off with pound!"

"Umbreon, dodge and use faint attack!" JJ shouted. He realized that the dark type move might be overkill at first, but push the thought away as he continued with the battle. Treecko rushed forward and leapt into the air as usual before getting hit in the side by a reappearing umbreon. Treecko crashed into the sand below, but seemed to be fine, as it got up rather quickly.

"Treecko, run at umbreon to use absorb! Grab onto its body and do your best to suck the health from it!" Niko commanded. The wood gecko pokémon obeyed, running at the dark type, who dodged and used tackle instead. Treecko eventually managed to grab hold of umbreon long enough to absorb some of its health, albeit not much. Umbreon then disappeared using faint attack and quickly reappeared behind treecko, headbutting it in the back.

Niko ran over to treecko and picked it up. "You alright, buddy?" Niko asked. Treecko nodded, wanting to get back up and try again. "Not right now. That was a tough battle, let's take a break," he got up and led the wood gecko over to their campsite where Brittany had just finished making lunch for the group.

As Niko was about to take some food from a plate Brittany prepared, he saw something flash by, smacking his hand and knocking the plate over, with less food on it than previously. Looking up in the direction of the forest, he saw a small black and white bird flying away.

"That bird took my food!" Niko shouted out, pointing to the bird.

"You going to go after it?" Brittany asked, looking in the direction of the bird.

"Even if I did, probably couldn't catch it. That thing was pretty fast…" Niko said, peering up into the sky. "Meh, whatever. I'll just eat whatever's left."

And so he did. It wasn't much, and afterwards Niko continued his training with treecko, working on trying to absorb more health. The second time around, he chose a weaker opponent.

"Chikorita, let's try using razor leaf this time!" JJ shouted, throwing out his hand in emphasis. The leaf pokémon rotated its head around, providing the leaf on its head with enough momentum to release a series of razor-sharp leaves at its opponent. Treecko evaded each one before landing a pound attack.

"Now treecko, use absorb!" Niko shouted. The wood gecko pokémon, now close enough to touch chikorita, placed its hand on the grass type's body, trying to steal away some of its health. It succeeded, as chikorita retaliated by kicking treecko with its hind leg and using razor leaf up close, knocking its opponent out.

"Treecko! You have to get up! Keep fighting!" Niko shouted. As he did so, he saw another quick flash as something hit chikorita and treecko over before flying off towards the sea. "What the hell? Is that…is that the same bird as before?"

"Possibly," JJ said, looking up at the bird flying away. "I can understand the uh stealing food, but why would it attack us?"

"No idea, but I'm not letting it happen again. Next time we see it, we're going to fight it. Right treecko?"

The wood gecko turned to its trainer and nodded.

* * *

That night the group decided to sleep on the beach. As Niko was about to fall asleep after a long day of training, he heard a noise coming from his bag. Sitting up and looking around in the dark, he noticed something small rummaging through his stuff.

He shot out of his sleeping bag and rushed at the thing, which turned out to be…a bird.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Niko shouted, waking up Brittany and Jake (JJ was a heavy sleeper, normally). Suddenly he saw a light shine on it—Brittany pulled out an emergency flashlight that she carried with her. "It's that same bird!" Niko shouted, the bird in his hands, struggling to loosen his grip. Eventually it used peck on Niko's hand, eliciting a high-pitched "ow!" from the trainer and forcing him to let go. The bird began to fly off when Niko quickly summoned treecko to stop it. "Use pound!"

The wood gecko leapt into the air and slammed its tail onto the bird's back, launching both into the sand below. Meanwhile, Jake pulled out his pokédex to get a name for this bird:

" _Taillow, the tiny swallow pokémon. Normal and flying type. Although it is small, it is very courageous. It will take on a larger skarmory on an equal footing. However, its will weakens if it becomes hungry_."

"You've got the courageous part right, that's for sure," Niko muttered. "Treecko, we're going to show this thing who's boss. I don't want it to come back again! Use pound!"

Treecko ran back towards taillow, who instead of fleeing used peck on treecko's tail, causing the move to fail and the wood gecko pokémon to fall on its back into the sand. Taillow then used peck once more before attempting to fly away.

"Now treecko! Use absorb!" Niko shouted. The grass type quickly jumped back into the air, catching taillow's talon. As the two pokémon descended back to the ground, treecko began trying to take the health of the swallow pokémon, eventually slamming it into the sand before letting go of its talon. "Let's finish this off! Treecko, use pound!"

"Wait—Niko!" Jake shouted. His brother turned back to him.

"Jake…what's so important? I'm about to—ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?" Niko turned back to see taillow flying away. "Jake… _what_ did you need?"

"I was going to say you should catch it…" Jake said innocently. "It looks like a strong pokémon, right? Maybe it'd work well on your team."

"Well, even if I wanted to, it got away, didn't it?" Niko asked, looking back at his brother.

"Uh…Niko, check again," JJ, who was now awake, muttered sleepily.

Niko turned around and saw taillow pinned down in the sand by treecko, who was clearly using absorb, as its hands were now a bright green color. "Wow…great job, treecko!" Niko applauded. "Hey, treecko, whadda ya say we catch this thing?"

The wood gecko, looking from its trainer back down to the taillow that was pinned under it, nodded. It stopped absorbing energy and instead just pinned it to the sandy surface. Meanwhile, Niko was about to pull out an ordinary red and white pokéball when he remembered the ball that Kurt had given him, all the way back in Johto—the fastball. He looked down at the red and yellow pokéball with a yellow lightning bolt on it. Grinning, he turned back to the two fighting pokémon.

"Treecko, let it go. I want to see if this works," Once treecko released its grip on taillow, Niko threw the fastball at the swallow pokémon, engulfing the bird in a bright red light before moving it into the fastball. It fell to the ground and shifted around in the second until ultimately clicking. Niko walked over, picked up the pokéball, and looked down at treecko. "Looks like we got two wins tonight—we got a new member of our team, and you learned absorb!"

"What a night, Niko!" JJ said, "Now, can we _please_ get back to bed?"

"Sure thing, JJ. Sorry for waking you up," Niko didn't get an answer, as his friend was already asleep by the time he did say something. Niko returned treecko to its pokéball, made sure Jake was sound asleep, and finally dozed off himself.

* * *

The following morning, as they were packing, Niko summoned his new taillow.

"Hey buddy, you're with me now. My name is Niko, and these are my friends, Brittany and JJ, and my brother, Jake," He then sat down in the sand next to taillow. "I'm sorry for all of the fuss last night. I was just tired of you trying to steal my stuff. It wasn't until Jake suggested that I catch you that I realized something—you're probably hungry, aren't you?"

Taillow nodded aggressively as Niko pulled out his canister of pokémon food, poured some into his hand, and held it out for taillow. He waited until the swallow was done eating before putting the canister away and finally packing his bags.

"I hope we can be friends. I'm a pokémon trainer, and it's my goal to challenge other powerful trainers and earn badges from them. I want you to help me on this journey, and I hope you do, too."

Taillow looked up at Niko for a moment before nodding, indicating that it understood what its new trainer was saying. Niko nodded curtly.

"It'll be a lot of battling, which I assume you're completely fine with, since you held your own against treecko."

When Niko stood up taillow flew into the air and perched on his shoulder. Smiling, he turned to his friends and brother, and the four continued their journey to Rustboro City, and Niko's first Hoenn gym battle.


	5. Two teams and a shroomish!

**Episode 5: Two teams and a shroomish!**

It took another day or so to reach the Petalburg woods. Evidently, it seemed to remind Niko, JJ, and Brittany of the Ilex forest in Johto, only less dense and dark. During their time in the woods, Niko continued to train treecko and his newly caught taillow, the latter of whom wouldn't be at much of an advantage against Roxanne. Nevertheless, Niko trained his little swallow as if it were, by using its speed to its advantage.

"Alright taillow, fly around in circles like we practiced!" Niko shouted. The tiny swallow circled its opponent at a speed that reduced its image to a blur. It's opponent—a wurmple—kept trying to crane its head to get a better look at taillow. "Now use quick attack!"

Taillow launched towards the ground, slamming into the wurmple, causing it to skid backwards across the forest ground. It landed in a small pile of leaves, defeated.

"Wurmple, return. Hey, thanks for battling me. That taillow is really strong!"

Niko nervously itched the back of his neck. "Heh, guess so. I think it was more just advantage than strength. I just caught it, so I'm still trying to figure out its strengths and weaknesses, you know?"

The bug catcher Niko was battling nodded. "I hope we can battle again soon! Bye!" He said as he ran off through the forest to who knows where. Niko looked at taillow as it perched itself on his shoulder. The two then walked back over to their campsite, where Brittany was reading a magazine, JJ was cleaning his umbreon, and Jake was playing around with mudkip.

"Hey guys, just finished a battle. What're you all up to?" Niko asked for conversation's sake, as he could already tell his friends were busy.

"Oh, hey Niko," JJ said, looking up from his dark type pokémon. How'd the uh battle go?"

"Not bad; taillow won pretty quickly, but we had the advantage going into it. I'm just glad it's enjoying the battles."

"It looks like it! Anyways, I gotta get back to this bath; umbreon doesn't like it too much, and I've still got growlithe, who _hates_ baths, obviously."

"Ah, alright then. I guess treecko, taillow, and I will go take a walk. Be back soon!" Niko said as he turned around and began walking into the forest. Moments later he saw Jake and mudkip to his left, walking almost in tandem. "Oh, hey buddy, what's up?"

"Just thought I'd see what you're going," Jake said simply.

"Oh, alright. No worries!" Niko said, petting taillow. "So…what do you think of everything so far?"

Niko tended to ask this question a lot. He wanted to make sure that Jake was at the very least enjoying himself. He had no intention of challenging gyms quite yet, and Niko didn't want him to get too bored of everything too fast. Luckily, Jake was far from it.

"Nope! I love travelling with you and your friends!"

"That's great, Jake. We've still got a long way to go, though. I hope you're ready for it."

"Of course I am, Niko. Why wouldn't I be?" Jake tended to sometimes sound older than he actually was. This was one of those times.

"I'm just worried that you'll get bored after a while. I mean—it's not like you're challenging gyms or anything."

"No, not yet. But when we get back I definitely want to!"

"Wow, already got your future planned out. Nice job," Niko said, high-fiving his brother. Jake returned it with extra vigor.

They continued walking for some time before seeing a poochyena leap through nearby bushes and onto the path, clearly in pursuit of something. Curious, Niko and Jake followed it.

"Taillow, fly ahead and see what's going on, alright?" Niko said as he was running off the beaten path with Jake. The tiny swallow nodded before getting into the air and flying forward. He got treecko's pokéball at the ready as well, in case they were jumped.

Turns out they didn't, because they quickly found what they were looking for. In a nearby clearing, they saw two young adults—a man and a woman—cornering a guy with a lab coat and glasses against a tree, with two poochyenas standing in front of them, ready to attack. Niko, having noticed them first, was able to get the jump instead.

"Taillow, use quick attack! Treecko, pound!" Niko shouted, throwing the latter's pokéball while taillow shot down at the poochyenas. Both attacks were a success, and drew the attention of the two young adults and the older man.

The younger ones—one male, one female—were both dressed in red clothing. The male was in ruby-red slacks and a hoodie; the female wore shorts of the same color and the same hoodie. Both wore the same boots and had the same black "m" symbol on their chest.

"What do _you_ want, punk?" The male said. "You got any business with Team Magma?"

"Huh…?" Niko asked, cocking his head to the side. "No…not that I know of. I can see that you've got something against this man, though."

"He ain't giving us what we need, so we trying to force it outta him!" The female said, smirking.

"Well, that won't happen, then," Niko said plainly. "Taillow, use peck! Treecko, pound!"

The two pokémon attacked the poochyenas once more, both landing their attacks successfully. Meanwhile, Jake and mudkip ran over to get the older man in the lab coat while Niko distracted Team Magma.

"Why do you need this man? What does he have that's so important?" Niko shouted after commanding more attacks.

The male grunt laughed. "He's got infomation about a certain technology that we need, thas what."

Niko nodded. "Alright, well I'm not sure chasing him into the middle of a forest is exactly the best idea. Treecko, absorb! Taillow, peck again!" Niko shouted as he was finally able to bring down the two grunts. Defeated, they returned their pokémon in shock and looked up at Niko.

"Who da hell are you?" The female one demanded.

"I'm a trainer from Pallet Town. Now, leave," Niko demanded back, suddenly feeling powerful and not quite sure what to make of it.

"Leave? No no no…that man ain't getting out of here without giving some answers himself," another voice said as it appeared out of the bushes in the face of a young man, this one in different clothing. He wore gray pants that were cut just below the ankles, wore a black belt, and a white and blue striped shirt with a black bandana. "Oh, what're you Team Magma scum doing here? Losing, apparently."

"Oh screw off, Team Aqua! This is not a trainer you want to mess with. We were about to get the information out of the Devon guy before this kid showed up!"

"Whatever. Buzz off, magma morons. You've lost, just like last time. Now get out and let the real adults handle this. Zubat, poochyena, let's go!"

"Alright guys, let's finish this guy off, too!" Niko said, looking at taillow and treecko, both of whom were standing right in front of him. "Taillow, quick attack on zubat! Treecko, absorb on poochyena!"

"Zubat, leech life! Poochyena, tackle!" The Team Aqua grunt shouted. The four pokémon rushed in to attack, with Niko's pokémon hitting first. Treecko sucked poochyena's health away before spinning around and slamming its tail into the side of the dark type. Meanwhile, zubat and taillow exchanged blows repeatedly until zubat used supersonic, which confused the swallow pokémon and caused it to crash into the ground.

"Treecko, pound on zubat! Taillow, are you okay?" Niko asked as the wood gecko sprang into action. Taillow looked around, trying to remember where it was before zooming out of Niko's arms and at the bat pokémon, knocking it out with a combined quick attack and pound.

The grunt returned zubat and, looking at the state of his injured poochyena, returned it as well.

"Well kid, you're strong, I'll admit that much. But…hey! Where's the scientist?" He shouted angrily, turning from Niko to the forest beyond. Niko shrugged with a rather smug look on his face, knowing that Jake was able to get out just fine.

Niko looked down at treecko and taillow and, without hesitation, returned them and made a run for it. The Team Aqua grunt, though defeated, pursued him through the trees until they reached Niko's campsite. Brittany, JJ, Jake, and the scientist all looked at an exhausted Niko and the Team Aqua grunt behind him.

"There you are!" The grunt shouted, pointing at the scientist. "Give me what I need, and I won't hurt you."

"Yeah?" Niko said, turning back, pokéballs in hand. The grunt frowned, sure that he wouldn't be able to do much at this point. Shaking his head, he turned around and walked off, swearing under his breath.

"What was that all about?" JJ asked.

"That was Team Aqua," the scientist explained, "they're after technology that is being developed by Devon Corp. right now. For what purpose, I really don't know."

"Team Magma was apparently also looking for it," Niko added, sitting down on a log next to Brittany. "Are they rivals teams or something? They didn't seem to like each other."

"Correct. Team Aqua and Team Magma used to be large-scale organizations several years back. They each had one goal, although with different results. Team Aqua wanted to expand the seas, and Team Magma wanted to expand the land. These respective goals led them to attempt to reawaken the super-powerful pokémon groudon and kyogre. They failed, and went into hiding. Why they're back again, no one seems to know. But they want something from us, that's for sure."

"What did they want from you?" Brittany asked, resting her arms on her knees comfortably.

"Company secret, can't tell you. Honestly, I'm not sure how they figured out what we're doing. There must be a spy," he muttered the last sentence to himself before perking back up. "I've got to get back to Rustboro City and alert them! Sorry, thanks for everything! Bye!"

The scientist shot off of the log he was sitting on and ran back through the woods. Before anyone could protest, he was gone.

"Well then," Niko said, clapping his hands and looking at his friends. "Should we get going, too?"

"Don't you want to eat?" Brittany asked.

"I'll eat on the road. I think we should follow that guy for a bit from afar, just to make sure he's alright."

The rest of the group nodded before packing up their things and continuing their journey through the forest.

"Oh, Jake. I forgot to thank you for getting that scientist out while I was battling," Niko said, ruffling his brother's hair.

"I was just trying to help," Jake responded, looking down at the mudkip in his arms.

Roughly half an hour later, they came upon what looked like the Team Aqua grunt, only he was laying on his stomach and not moving. In front of him sat a rather large green mushroom-like pokémon. It stared up at the group, its unibrow furrowed.

"What the heck is this thing?" JJ asked, pulling out his pokédex:

" _Shroomish, the mushroom pokémon. If shroomish senses danger, it shakes its body and scatters spores from the top of its head. This pokémon's spores are so toxic, they make trees and weeds wilt_."

"Did you…did you _poison_ this guy?" JJ asked, looking down at shroomish and pointing to the grunt. The mushroom pokémon shook its head, releasing small yellow spores from the top of its head. "Ah, you stunned him. Well, good job, shroomish! We were fighting this guy earlier. Good to know you didn't let him get away."

"Should we try and notify the police or something?" Niko suggested, looking from shroomish to the grunt and back to his friends.

"That'd be a good idea, but we're nowhere near a town, right?" Brittany replied, looking around as if in search of some other sign of civilization.

"Wait! Can't you call people on the pokénav?" Jake asked, pointing to JJ.

"Yeah…you're right, I can…" JJ said, his brows raised as he searched his pockets for the pokénav, eventually pulling it out and quietly looking for the call feature. Eventually he did, and typed in the number Norman had given him for the police station's office. "Hello? Hi, I'm JJ, and I'd like to report a Team Aqua grunt…yeah…we're in Petalburg Woods…yeah, okay, got it…we'll stay put…yeah, thanks!" He clicked the pokénav again, ending the call before turning back to his friends. "We're good. We'll just need to wait here for a bit."

The rest of the group nodded as they set up camp again. Niko continued training his pokémon while Jake and Brittany played around with theirs. JJ turned to the shroomish, who for whatever reason was sticking around.

"You know, you don't have to wait here for the police," JJ said, hands in his pockets as he looked down at shroomish. "We got it from here, you can go back to your friends and family or wherever you're from."

JJ must have stricken a nerve, as the shroomish turned away, looking ashamed.

"What's the matter?" The curly blonde said as he crouched down to the shroomish's level. "I-I'm sorry if I offended you. Wasn't trying to."

"Hey, JJ," Brittany said, having watched the scene from afar. "I don't think it has anyone to go to."

"I figured that out, thanks Brittany," JJ said in a snarky tone. "Anyways, that's a shame," JJ then thought for a moment, ruffling his own hair as he did so. "Say, shroomish…would you like to come with us, then? I guess it'd be nice to have a pokémon that can release spores like that…you know, in case we get into trouble again."

The shroomish turned to JJ curiously. Suddenly, the ashamed look turned into one of hope. JJ chuckled as he pulled out a spare pokéball and rolled it towards the shroomish, who clicked the middle of the ball with its stubby foot and immediately went inside. Moments later, it was captured.

JJ immediately sent the shroomish back out, as well as his other pokémon, so everyone could get acquainted. It seemed that everyone got along well—especially chikorita and shroomish. Growlithe tried nuzzling the mushroom pokémon, but the latter took it as a threat and released a stun spore, which instantly paralyzed the puppy pokémon. JJ, trying to be the healer of the group now that Fay was gone, ripped through his backpack to find a paralyze heal potion, spraying it on the fire type until it was able to move once more. It growled ferociously at shroomish, who cowered a little, realizing what it had done.

While JJ was trying to ease tensions between his old and new pokémon, an Officer Jenny arrived to apprehend the grunt. After explaining the situation, she told the group that they would look further into it, although they had their doubts, since the leaders of the two teams have been in jail since the incident with groudon and kyogre. She rode away on her motorbike, the grunt sitting in the passenger seat, still unconscious.

With nothing else keeping them in the forest, the group continued on, hoping to make it to Rustboro City within the next day or so.


	6. Jake's first battle!

**Episode 6: Jake's first battle!**

"Alright, this will be a one-on-one battle between Jake from Pallet Town and Zachary from Rustboro City. You may begin!"

"Mudkip, you're up!" Jake shouted, throwing out the pokéball containing his mud fish pokémon.

"Nincada, I choose you!" Zachary commanded. "Use leech life!"

"Mudkip, dodge it and use tackle!" Jake commanded. The water type, less reluctant to battle this time, ran forward and maneuvered through the onslaught of leech life attacks before slamming into nincada, who had used harden moments before the collision.

"Heh, alright nincada, use leech life!"

The trainee pokémon raised its claw and poked mudkip in the side with it, rapidly absorbing the health from it. Mudkip cried out in pain as it progressively felt weaker, collapsing onto the ground.

"Mudkip! You have to get up!" Jake shouted. It was his first official battle, excluding the one with Niko over a week prior. He wanted to win. And he wanted to win bad.

* * *

The group finally arrived in Rustboro City, days after their incident in the Petalburg Woods with Team Aqua and Magma. The first thing they did was check in to the pokémon center to heal up their teams while they had a _real_ cooked meal for the first time in days. As they were eating, JJ was looking for the gym on his pokénav. Turns out it wasn't too far from the pokémon center, right next to a school.

"Maybe we could go check that out first?" JJ suggested.

Niko gave his friend a curious look. "Why the heck would we go to a _school_? Both of us are way too old to be going there anyways."

"Uh…Niko…Roxanne is a teacher there, actually."

The brown-haired trainer sighed loudly, realizing JJ was right. He continued to look down at his food, thinking about the gym battle coming up. He knew treecko wouldn't have much difficulty with the battle, being a grass type. But if he had to use taillow, then he would be at a major disadvantage. Well, at least on the surface. Taillow was faster than Niko often gave it credit for.

"Niko?" Brittany asked, looking curiously at her friend. "You alright?"

Niko perked up, smiling at the brunette. "Heh, yeah! Just thinking about the gym battle, that's all."

Brittany nodded in reply. She found herself less worried about Niko recently. He was growing up, becoming more emotionally intelligent, and less reliant on others. It made sense, too: he was beginning to understand himself and the concept of pokémon battling in a way that would allow him to improve on his skills, and not hinder them.

On the other hand, however, it made her think more about herself and her goals. Was she accomplishing the things that she expected to? What _exactly_ was she doing with her life? At the moment, it didn't seem like breeding was working out, but she didn't know what to replace it with.

They finished their meal and began walking out of the pokémon center as they saw some kids running up the street.

"Huh…they're headed in the direction of the gym, actually," JJ said, looking down at the pokénav with azurill still in his arms. "Guess there's some sort of event going on."

The group followed the small crowd of kids as they all ran towards the school, as JJ had predicted. They eventually reached the front gates of the school, and an exhausted Niko, Brittany, and JJ all looked ahead to an older-looking woman approaching the crowd. She was the average height of a woman, with long brown hair tied up with a dark pink ribbon in the back. She wore a traditional school uniform with dark pink stockings.

"Welcome! The Rustboro City pokémon school will now be holding its annual Battle Day! I am Roxanne, the head teacher at the school and gym leader of Rustboro City, and I welcome you all to come and watch the battles unfold."

"Battle Day…" Niko muttered, "wonder what they'll be doing."

"Dunno, but it sure sounds fun!" Brittany commented. "Think older people like us will be able to participate?" She asked as she looked up at Niko, who shrugged in return.

"Does anyone have questions?" Roxanne posed to the crowd of children. JJ immediately raised his hand. "Yes? Are you a parent?"

"Uh…no? I was actually wondering if there was an age requirement to battle."

"Well, this is a children's school. Are you a child?" Roxanne asked teasingly. JJ shook his head. "Then no, you may not compete. Your brother, however, may," she said assumingly, turning to Jake.

"Actually Roxanne, he's my brother," Niko said, waving his hand weakly. The gym leader nodded passively before turning to the rest of the crowd again.

"Anyways! Here's how Battle Day works. All children who wish to battle will be put into pairs to battle. The winners of each battle will move on, and the losers will go and cheer them on after. This will continue until there are only two trainers left, and half of you cheering for one trainer, and half cheering for the other. The winner will challenge me in a one-on-one battle. Are the rules clear?"

The children unanimously shouted, "Yes Teacher Roxanne," before being placed into pairs. Jake, being young enough to participate, looked up to his friends before getting the affirmative nod from Niko, JJ, and Brittany, all of whom were smiling encouragingly. He stepped forward and was paired with a young boy and his nincada.

* * *

"Mudkip! You have to get up!" Jake shouted as nincada raised its claw to use leech life again. The attack missed, however, when mudkip rolled sideways and quickly stood back up, preparing to face nincada again. "Yay! Mudkip, use tackle!"

"Nincada, rush forward and use leech life!" Zachary commanded. The pokémon collided, mudkip hitting first and knocking nincada backwards. However, while the two pokémon were still within striking distance of one another, nincada poked mudkip with leech life once more, ultimately defeating the mud fish pokémon.

"Mudkip is unable to battle, nincada wins! The victory goes to Zachary from Rustboro City!" Roxanne declared.

Jake walked over to mudkip and picked it up, a tear in his eye. "Mudkip…I'm sorry!" He said before running off, ignoring the fact that he should be cheering for Zachary now.

Niko ran after his brother, Brittany and JJ right behind him. The three found him sitting on a bench near the school playground, cradling mudkip. Niko sat on his brother's left and put an arm around him; Brittany on his right. JJ and azurill stood in front of him.

"You okay buddy?" Niko asked.

"What do you think…" Jake pouted.

"Losing isn't easy. Trust me, I know," Niko said with a laugh.

"So do I," JJ said, chuckling as well. "Jake, did you know that I joined Niko and Fay to challenge gyms?" Jake looked up at the curly blonde, and shook his head. "Well, I had planned to. But we all challenged Brock in Pewter City, and I lost pretty badly. I did the same thing you're doing now—ran outside in shame and sat down on a bench to think. That's when Niko and Fay came out and comforted me. They told me that losing is okay, and that if I didn't want to battle I didn't have to, but that they still wanted me to tag along with them.

"Jake, the point is that one loss doesn't define who you are, and it certainly doesn't make you a failure."

Niko nodded. "He's totally right. Remember when I lost to Fay a couple years ago? Well, I did the same thing you did. I went up to my room and broke down in front of my whole team of pokémon, and blamed myself for the loss. I thought that it wasn't worth it to continue training, since I didn't think I was good at it. It was my friends," he turned to Brittany and smiled warmly, "who convinced me otherwise. I then came back and defeated Fay a year later, and improved in my league standing by making Top 8. I've lost three gym battles and tied a fourth, and all of them have made me a better trainer. This loss doesn't define you; it makes you better."

Jake sat there, looking around at his friends. Mudkip was looking up at its trainer, and yelped out in happiness. The trainer smiled, hugging his pokémon.

"Thanks guys, that helped," Jake said softly. "Can we go back now? I think I need to cheer Zachary on."

The three older trainers all nodded, and proceeded back to the school battlefield, where Zachary had just won a match against a girl with a lotad. Jake ran over to congratulate him, and joined the girl in cheering him on in his next match against a young boy with a poochyena. Zachary eventually defeated him as well, and soon he found himself in the finals against a seedot.

"The nincada is pretty strong…" JJ commented as they watched the battles and all of the children cheering on each side."

"Yeah, but it's a bug type, right?" Niko asked as he perused the pokédex for nincada's entry. "Roxanne shouldn't have a difficult time battling it, I don't think."

"Definitely, but uh I still think that nincada is strong, don't you think?" JJ asked. Niko nodded as he watched the nincada win against the seedot.

Roxanne then stepped forward. "Great job, Zachary. You've done well. Now, if you would, I would like to challenge you myself. Are you ready?" Zachary nodded eagerly, and the gym leader took her place on the opposite end of the field. "This will be a one-on-one match. If you can beat me, not only will I award you my gym badge, but you will be able to graduate from the school early and participate in a gym challenge of your own, if you so wish to. Ready whenever you are."

Zachary nodded. "Alright then! Nincada, I choose you!"

Roxanne smirked. "Nosepass, you're up!" The gym leader shouted as she summoned a large rock pokémon that resembled an Easter Island head with a bright red nose. Curious, Niko pulled out his pokédex to examine this, knowing he would have to fight it eventually:

" _Nosepass, the compass pokémon. Rock type. Its body emits a powerful magnetism. It feeds on prey that is pulled in by the force. Its magnetism is stronger in cold seasons_."

"Well, that doesn't help much," Niko muttered before continuing to watch the battle.

"Nincada, leech life!" Zachary shouted. The trainee pokémon ran towards nosepass, who stood still the whole time. As nincada made contact with the compass pokémon, it struck.

"Nosepass, use rock throw!" Roxanne commanded. The rock type conjured a rock in midair and slammed it down onto nincada, nearly crushing it. "Now, use harden and tackle!"

The compass pokémon shone brightly in the sun as it hardened it rocky coat before shifting forward towards nincada, its legs unmoving. It slammed into the trainee pokémon, quickly defeating it.

"Nosepass, return," Roxanne said. "Zachary, you are a great battler, but you forget that I am a rock type specialist, and so I will almost always have the advantage against bug types," The gym leader shook her student's hand while smiling, and turned to the rest of the class and crowd. "With that said, Battle Day has finished. Thank you to everyone who showed up and participated, either by watching or battling. I look forward to seeing all of you again sometime."

As Roxanne was about to exit into the school building, Niko ran up to her. "Hello, gym leader," Roxanne turned around to look at Niko. She was only a few inches shorter than him, but her air of authority made him feel much shorter than he actually was.

"Yes? You're the one with the brother. Jake, right?" Niko nodded. "He battled well, but he certainly has a long way to go."

"Yeah, I agree. It was his first ever battle, actually. But anyways, my name is Niko, and I'm in Hoenn competing in the gym challenge. When would it be best for me to come by the gym to battle you?"

Roxanne thought for a moment. "Well Niko, I'm free later today, actually. Stop by the gym in a few hours, when my class gets out. You know where the gym is, right? It's right over there," She said, pointing to the building right next to the school. Niko nodded.

"Thanks, I look forward to battling you."

"Likewise. Have a great day," Roxanne said as she turned around and walked back into the school. Niko turned to his friends, who were the only ones left outside.

"Looks like I've got a gym battle to prepare for," Niko said smiling, determination etched on his face.


	7. Rock throw to the head!

**Author's note: Writer's block sucks so much. It's been plaguing me for the last couple of episodes, so bear with me. I hope you enjoy all the same!**

* * *

 **Episode 7: Rock throw to the head!**

Niko spent the few hours he had before his gym battle with Roxanne training with treecko and taillow. Having seen nosepass battle, and knowing that she specializes in rock types, Niko figured that speed would be the best offense.

The hours went by, and Niko ran back to the pokémon center to heal his team before the battle. Meanwhile, the rest of the group was off shopping for their next trip. JJ had looked up the next closest gym on the pokénav, and found Dewford Town, which was one of the gyms that Norman had mentioned. How they planned to get there, they had yet to figure out, but they figured shopping for supplies and checking out the city was the most productive way to pass the time while Niko trained.

The group reunited at the Rustboro gym. Niko was waiting on a bench outside with treecko and taillow, presumably giving them a pep talk. Noticing his friends, he stood up and returned his pokémon.

"Hey guys, how was the shopping?" He asked.

"It was good. I think we have enough to get us to Dewford Town. Still not sure how we'll get there, though," JJ responded, shrugging a little.

"No worries, we'll figure that out later. I've got a gym match to win first!" Niko said, pumping his fist excitedly. He then led the way into the gym, followed by Brittany, Jake, and JJ. Roxanne was sitting in the stands, setting up a camera with her assistant. "Hey, Roxanne! It's Niko, we talked earlier today," He waved. The gym leader took notice and walked down the stands to approach him and shake his hand.

"I remember. Do you mind if we film this? I try to film most of my gym battles so that my students can watch and observe them later."

"Oh, I don't have a problem with that. I'm not really camera shy," Niko laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. Roxanne nodded with a smile and walked to the opposite end of the field. When her assistant gave her the thumbs up, she turned back to Niko.

"This will be a two-on-two pokémon battle between me, the gym leader of Rustboro City, and Niko of…?"

"Pallet Town," Niko simply said.

"Right, Pallet Town. Niko, you may begin when ready," Roxanne nodded again, pokéball in hand.

"Alright, let's go taillow!" Niko shouted.

"A rather unconventional choice, but I've seen less conventional. Geodude, you're up! Use rock throw!"

"Taillow, dodge and circle the air!" Niko shouted, trying to replicate the strategy he has practiced with his swallow pokémon. The flying type shot into the air and spun around in circles, mostly in an attempt to confuse geodude, but also to hopefully increase its attack power by creating momentum. "Alright, now taillow! Use quick attack!"

The tiny swallow dove down at geodude from behind it and slammed into its back, clearly doing some damage. The rock pokémon turned around to grab taillow, but it missed. Taillow then dove back down to use quick attack once more, and again missing geodude's outstretched arm.

"Geodude, use defense curl!" Roxanne commanded. Geodude folded its arms into itself as it hardened its rocky exterior. Taillow then dove back down to use quick attack, on Niko's orders, and slammed into the hardened body of geodude, collapsing onto the ground.

"Agh…I'm sorry taillow, I—what?"

Taillow was now in geodude's grip. The rock pokémon turned and threw it in Niko's direction and then, on Roxanne's command, used rock tomb. The attack created edged slabs of earth to shoot up all around taillow at an angle, creating a tent of sorts. However, taillow found itself stuck in the space where the slabs all met. Geodude then rushed forward and slammed its fist into the tiny swallow, defeating it.

"Taillow is unable to battle, geodude wins! Niko will now send out his second pokémon!" The assistant declared.

"Well, this isn't going too well," JJ said observantly.

"But his treecko is pretty well-trained. Niko might still be able to pull this off," Brittany said with confidence in her friend. JJ and Jake both nodded as they continued to watch.

"Treecko, let's go!" Niko shouted. "Use pound!"

"Again, an unconventional move. That's fair, though. I imagine you have something in mind. Geodude, use rock throw!" Roxanne commanded.

The rock pokémon conjured a rock in its palm and tossed it at treecko, who agilely dodged it and leapt into the air, where it somersaulted and slammed its tail on geodude's head.

"Grab onto it!" Roxanne shouted. Geodude did as told, grabbing the large, dark green tail and slamming treecko down on its back.

"Treecko, absorb now!" Niko commanded. The wood gecko pokémon thrust its palm onto geodude's arm as it began to drain the rock pokémon's energy. Geodude cried out as it loosened its grip on treecko. The grass type jumped back on its feet. "Now, use pound again!"

Treecko spun around and slammed its tail into geodude's face, causing the rock type to reel back a bit. The wood gecko then launched forward to use absorb once more, effectively finishing off its opponent.

"Geodude is unable to battle, treecko wins! Roxanne will now send out her second pokémon!" The assistant declared.

"Nosepass, I choose you!" Roxanne shouted, summoning the compass pokémon Niko had witnessed earlier that day. "Use harden!"

"Treecko, let's be careful. This pokémon doesn't look like much, but it can pack a punch," Niko said, cautioning his grass type. "Now, let's try to use absorb from a distance!"

"Trying out new techniques in the middle of a gym battle? I see…" Roxanne smirked. She looked like she was enjoying this. "Nosepass, use rock throw!"

The compass pokémon raised its arms and conjured a rock from above it and tossed it at treecko, whose hand was outstretched as it focused on trying to sap nosepass' energy from it. However, it was too busy concentrating to notice the rock hurtling towards it, and ultimately got hit in the face by it. The wood gecko fell backwards, rubbing dirt from its face as it tried to see, but everything seemed blurry to it.

"Treecko, are you alright?" Niko asked. His pokémon nodded as it slowly got back up. "Treecko, let's try something different then! Use pound!"

"Same strategy, Niko? Got it. Nosepass, rock tomb!"

Treecko, vision still blurry from the rock throw, tried dodging the rock tomb, but quickly found itself encased in the slabs of rock jutting from the ground.

"Treecko, you can do this! Try and get out!" Niko shouted. The wood gecko shifted around in the small space between the slabs, trying to loosen itself. It kept doing this for up to a minute before Roxanne commanded again.

"Niko, you've clearly got a lot to learn about battling. As a teacher, I can't help but try and help you learn. However, it will be the hard way. Nosepass, use rock throw!"

"Treecko!" Niko shouted out, his voice echoing around the gym.

Just as the rock was flying towards treecko, the grass type dropped down into the tomb, allowing the rock to fly right by, collapsing onto the ground near Niko. Treecko then slammed its tail into the stone slabs repeatedly, eventually breaking through.

"Yes! You did it! Nicely done, treecko!" Niko shouted in praise. "Now, let's do this! Treecko, use pound!"

"Nosepass, rock tomb again!" Roxanne commanded.

"Oh, same strategy, Roxanne?" Niko teased, winking as he did so. Treecko jumped out of the way of the rock tomb and, as a second one appeared directly in front of it, treecko ran up the backside of the tomb and leapt into the air. It somersaulted before quickly slamming its tail on top of nosepass' head, flipping backwards and landing on the ground, face-to-face with the compass pokémon.

"Nosepass, use tackle!" Roxanne commanded.

"Treecko, grab its body and absorb!" Niko shouted. The compass pokémon rushed forward with unusual speed and collided with treecko, who pushed back on its opponent and began to sap its energy, making itself healthier while weakening nosepass.

Eventually, however, treecko gave into the attack and fell backwards, allowing nosepass to successfully tackle it. Treecko wasn't giving up, though. It jumped into the air and spun around, slamming its tail into the compass pokémon once again.

"Treecko, use absorb!" Niko shouted.

"Nosepass, rock throw!" Roxanne commanded. The rock descended at treecko, who evaded and climbed on top of nosepass as it sapped more of its energy. The rock type, showing no emotions, simply stood there. "Use rock throw!"

"Wait for it…" Niko muttered to himself.

The rock was conjured directly above nosepass and treecko and, as it began to fall, the wood gecko slid off of nosepass and back onto the ground, allowing the rock to hit the compass pokémon on the head. Once again, the rock type showed no emotion, but began to fall to the ground. Treecko then got one more absorb in before nosepass collapsed on the battlefield.

"Nosepass is unable to battle, treecko is the winner! And the victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!"

"Treecko! We did it!" Niko shouted, running onto the field to embrace the wood gecko, who had leapt into his arms as well. "You did such a great job buddy. I'm really proud of you!"

Niko allowed treecko to climb onto his shoulder as Roxanne and nosepass approached them. Brittany, JJ, and Jake appeared from behind him, the former two slapping him on both sides of the back.

"Niko, that was quite the battle. I'm glad I got it all on tape," the gym leader said, pointing to the camera set being disassembled. "And, while you still have a lot to learn, it seems that I do as well. Here," Roxanne said, holding out a small badge. It was shaped like a rectangle with two of its corners more emphasized than the others. Niko took it from her hand and showed it to treecko, who smiled as well at their shared victory. "I award you the stone badge."

"Thanks, Roxanne. I really appreciate this."

"Psh, you've earned it. Now, where do you plan on heading next?"

"Well, this is my first badge here in Hoenn, so I think I'll head for Dewford Town next. Seems like the closest gym besides Petalburg."

"Ah, good choice. Brawly is an interesting guy. Fighting type, so I think you'll have an advantage. But don't ever underestimate him, okay? He might look and sound really laid back, but he is by no means like that when he battles."

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," Niko said before holding his hand out. Roxanne shook it, and the two locked eyes for a moment. Niko had just earned his first gym badge in Hoenn, and it was an excellent battle at that. At least, he thought it had been.

The group exited the gym as the sun was setting. They walked to the pokémon center to heal up Niko's team and had dinner while they waited.

"So, Niko, how does it feel to have your first Hoenn gym badge?" Brittany asked, her brow raised a little teasingly.

"It feels great, thanks for asking," Niko said before taking a bite of his sandwich. "So Dewford Town next? Have we figured out how we're going to get there yet?"

JJ shook his head. "No idea…we could head back to Petalburg and ask if there is some sort of ferry service. But honestly I have no idea."

The group was in quite the conundrum. They had no pokémon to ride on, and the trip to Dewford Island would take ages if they did so. They continued suggesting ideas, but by the time Niko got up to get treecko and taillow, they were running out.

However, as Niko was walking back to their booth, he noticed an older man with a cane talking with JJ and Brittany. Jake was listening intently to the conversation, mudkip sitting on his lap. Niko walked up to the man to introduce himself.

"Hello mister, I'm Niko. Is there anything we can help you with…?" He asked in a bemused tone.

"Oh, yes. Well, rather, is there anything I can help _you_ with?" The old man asked. "Name's Briney. Mr. Briney to be exact! Ha-ha!" Briney said, chortling. "Now, your friends here tell me you're trying to get to Dewford Town, right?"

"Yeah, actually we are. Why?"

"Oh, well I have a boathouse down the road, off near the coast, and could take you there. Me and peeko, that is," Briney said, whistling as a wingull flew over and landed on his shoulder. "This is peeko. He's me best friend and travelling partner. Trying to keep him out of trouble these days. Now, whaddya say, you kids in?"

Niko turned to his friends, who all seemed to nod. Even Jake, who has been told repeatedly by their parents to never go anywhere with strangers, seemed to agree. Niko turned back to Briney and nodded.

"Sure, we would love the help, Mr. Briney," Niko said, holding out his hand as Briney returned the handshake.

"Great! Say, why don't you four meet me at the southern entrance of the town tomorrow morning, say, around 8 o'clock? I'll take you back to my boathouse and treat you to some breakfast."

"Sounds great, thank you so much!" Niko said honestly. Mr. Briney nodded and walked away on his cane, peeko still on his shoulder. The brown-haired trainer turned to his friends, all of whom nodded in approval. The four then went to bed, their next destination in mind and a means of getting there settled.


	8. The Island Cave

**Author's note: Apologies for the lack of updates recently. Been busy with life + writer's block. I will say, though, that I really enjoyed writing the second half of this episode. I hope to do more of that kind of writing in the future. What do I mean? Read and find out!**

* * *

 **Episode 8: The Island Cave**

"Morning, kids! Sleep well?" Mr. Briney asked the group as they reunited at the front entrance of Rustboro City. Jake was lazily rubbing his eyes, but otherwise the four trainers seemed relatively awake. "Anyways, let's head west down this road here, and it'll take us to my boathouse."

Mr. Briney then went into a relatively lengthy description of his boats—the different kinds of models and their advantages and disadvantages—while the group tried to listen. It was only JJ and Jake that seemed even remotely interested in the boats, but Briney didn't seem to notice. What mattered, at least to the old man, was that he had someone to talk to about these things. He hardly got visitors, anyways.

They reached the boathouse, which was a large wooden warehouse filled with boats of different shapes and sizes. There was also a series of docks along the water that had boats lined up along them as well. On the opposite end of the warehouse was a tiny shack, which was presumably Briney's home.

"This place is incredible…" JJ mentioned. As a child he showed some interest in vehicle technology, and it became one of his mutual interests with Fay and Cody. Him and Jake wandered around for some time, observing the boats while Niko and Brittany talked with Briney about the logistics of the trip.

"Oh, it'll take a day at most. We'll arrive in Dewford Town by tomorrow for sure," Briney concluded. "We could get you there as soon as possible, but you did mentioned motion sickness, Niko, and so we're going with a slower model instead. Plus, it'll allow you to see the wonders of the seas of Hoenn. You're challenging gyms, right? Well, three of the major gyms in Hoenn are on islands, one of them being Dewford. So you'll get plenty of time to see the wonders of the ocean, I'm sure."

"Heh…" Niko began nervously, "I'm sure I will. Thanks again, Briney."

"If we're getting there tomorrow, where will we sleep?" Brittany wondered.

"Oh, under the ship. We'll anchor down near one of the small sand islands later tonight. I have the route to Dewford memorized at this point. A fair number of trainers seek me out to give them rides to Dewford Town. In fact, I got a ride request from a young girl a couple days ago…beautiful girl with black hair…"

"Melinda?" Niko asked, almost instinctively.

"Yes! That's her! Interesting person, Melinda. Her story is—how shall I put this—different, to say the least."

Niko gave Briney a bemused expression, but chose not to press any further. He barely knew Melinda—he figured that if she ever wanted to tell him anything about her life, she would do it herself. She seemed to be a very upfront kind of person, which explains why she went into detail about her now-mysterious past with Mr. Briney, of all people.

Briney then led the group to a rather large boat out on the docks and pulled down the ladder for them to board it. It didn't look like much, to be honest, but it was good enough for Niko and his friends. The ship looked like any standard ship, with a bow, stern, and a small room in the middle of the ship that looked like it would be the starboard, where the captain operates movement of the ship. Briney led the four under the starboard where their temporary living quarters would be. They put down their bags and walked back up with Briney to watch him start the ship and their journey to Dewford Town.

Roughly half an hour into the trip Niko began to feel sick, and went down to their living quarters while the other three spent some time up on the deck watching the sea pass them by. Jake would occasionally point to an unfamiliar pokémon or a random wingull flying in the sky, usually in packs with their evolution, pelipper, all while JJ was gathering their data in his pokédex. Brittany lay down on the lounge chair that Briney provided and read a magazine she picked up in Rustboro City. All three trainers had their pokémon out, and the lot were playing cheerfully (the exception being pichu, who wanted to stick with Brittany, and chikorita, who wanted to stick with JJ).

"Hey, did you guys know about these pokémon contests?" Brittany asked while reading the magazine. JJ and Jake, who were looking at the sea beyond, turned back and shook their heads.

"No clue. What are those?" JJ asked curiously.

"According to this, they're competitions that are based less on battling and more on showcasing your pokemon's moves and abilities. There is a battling component I think, but it's not the whole competition, like what Niko is doing."

"I see. When are they held?"

"Depends on the town. There are contests held all over the region apparently. I don't recognize any of these towns…oh! Wait! Petalburg City has some!"

"Well, we just left there. Are there any in Dewford Town?"

"It doesn't say…hey, how close is Fallarbor Town?"

JJ checked his pokénav, and raised his brow as soon as he found it. "As far north as you can go in Hoenn."

"What about Lilycove?"

"About as far northeast as you can go."

"What about Slateport City?"

"That…that's actually pretty close. It's on the way to Mauville City, which has a gym I think. We could head there after Niko wins in Dewford Town and check them out. Maybe Niko will find them interesting!" JJ mentioned as he rubbed chikorita's leaf lightly.

"Let's check it out then! Maybe we'd get to see a show!" Brittany exclaimed. Suddenly she felt fired up at the prospect of doing something not related to gym battling. Watching Niko battle was always entertaining, but it can get old after a while. She figured that maybe these contests could help make her adventures more exciting.

The two then began talking about the article Brittany had read while Jake was watching some wingull fly near the ship. After what seemed like hours Briney came out onto the deck to join the group.

"So, we should be hitting landfall soon enough kids," He said with a grin. "It isn't Dewford Town, but it's a nice island I usually take travelers to."

He then went back to the controls and continued moving the ship forward. After another couple of hours they finally landed on the shore of the island Briney was talking about. He was right, too—the island was quite large and had a tropical feel to it. It wasn't just sound mound of sand like they were used to back in Kanto or Johto—it had wildlife and vegetation, but nothing much else. It seemed like the people of Hoenn had kept this island in particular free of mankind's influence.

Briney climbed down the ladder onto the beach after anchoring the ship and looked around. The rest of the group joined him in turn. When Niko got down he put his hands over his head and took deep breaths to calm himself down—he was nauseous the whole day.

"So kids! This is it! Feel free to roam around for a bit, allow the pokémon to play, whatever you like. Just make sure to be back at this ship by nightfall, alright?"

"Sure thing, Mr. Briney!" Niko said with treecko and taillow next to him. "Say guys, how about we do some training?" The two pokémon nodded as they got into battle positions. Treecko began practicing his pound attack while taillow was working on its speed and quick attack. Brittany and her pokémon joined Jake and mudkip in making a sandcastle, and JJ and his pokémon played around in the water (growlithe excluded).

After a while the group all sat on some logs that were conveniently located near the beach (albeit the work of Mr. Briney) and talked for a bit. Their pokémon were off on the edge of a nearby forest running around, likely playing some sort of game. More specifically, the group was comprised of treecko, mudkip, torchic, chikorita, and tangela.

Out of nowhere, the pokémon heard something rumbling from within the forest. Treecko and chikorita looked at each other, and then at the other three before running off in the direction of the sound. Torchic and tangela followed, and lastly a reluctant mudkip.

They continued through the increasingly dense brush until the rumbling stopped. Treecko, the most alert one in the group, quickly scanned the small clearing around them. Chikorita got close to the wood gecko as the other three arrived. They all looked around as the sun was setting on the forest, darkening the area around them.

Treecko turned to tangela and spoke with it briefly, wondering what its thoughts were on the current situation. Tangela responded by communicating that it had no idea, and it was only following treecko's misguided attempt at adventure. Mudkip cried out that it was scared, as did chikorita, but the latter was chided by tangela, who said it followed treecko without hesitation.

Torchic, the naturally quiet one in the group, looked around and tried to make sense of the situation while the other four were arguing. It then saw some sort of stone building off in the distance and pointed to it with the yellow fluff on its arm that was its wing. The other pokémon turned to look and saw the same thing: a tall stone monument with vines crawling up and down its surface. Treecko decided to go check it out, with torchic following it. Tangela, mudkip, and chikorita all hesitated loudly before following as well, tangela the loudest of the three.

They approached the monument, which was large enough that it almost looked like an ordinary-sized building. Surrounding it were six pointed rocks, and on the front of the monument were seven dots arranged in a plus formation, with a message on the bottom written in some weird human language that used dots as well.

Treecko went up and touched the monument, and then ran to the left to see the whole thing. He returned on the group's right, having toured the entire monument. Torchic wanted to check it out, and followed treecko back around. When they got back, the dots on the front began to glow, and the stone under it collapsed, revealing a pathway into the monument.

Tangela freaked out, loudly warning treecko to not go in. The wood gecko ignored the plea and walked in, with torchic and the rest feeling uneasy about it. The five pokémon walked inside and saw a stairway leading down, but only several feet, into another chamber that was much larger in size. The group froze as they saw what lay in front of them.

Surrounded by another set of six stones lay a pokémon. It was unmoving, but its presence alone was enough to send chills down the pokémon's backs. It was clearly an ice-type pokémon that looked like a large crystal, with the same seven dots on what had to be its face. On its back stood four spikes. Since it was unmoving, it looked to be either dead or asleep.

The pokémon, trying not to speak in fear of waking it up, turned and slowly creeped back out of the chamber and the monument before breaking into a full-fledged run through the forest and back to the camp.

It was nighttime before the five pokémon returned to their human trainers, all of whom were either furious or scared or thankful for their return.

"Treecko! What were you doing?" Niko asked worriedly. "Please, don't just go off and explore without me there, okay? You don't know what's out there," The wood gecko pokémon, now knowing fully well what was out there, agreed with its trainer.

"Mudkip! I was so worried! But I'm glad you came back safely. Please don't go running off again. I was worried," Jake said, tightly hugging the mud fish pokémon.

Moments later Brittany and JJ returned to see their pokémon sitting there as well. "Chikorita! Why did you leave? I was scared that you ran off!" JJ said, scolding his leaf pokémon, who turned away ashamedly.

"Torchic, tangela, you both should know better," Brittany said, also lightly scolding her pokémon, "but I'm just glad you're back safely. I was worried."

Mr. Briney then climbed off of his boat and beckoned the group to come back inside for a meal and sleep. They obliged and, after a hearty meal, quickly fell to sleep. Their pokémon were the fastest to fall asleep, as they too had a long day, eager to continue their adventure with their friends and trainers the following day.


	9. Dewford Hall

**Episode 9: Dewford Hall**

The following day, the group reached Dewford Town in Mr. Briney's ship. Around midday they landed at the dock and departed from the ship.

"Aren't you coming with us, Mr. Briney?" Jake asked. He had grown an appreciation for the elderly man during their trip, and didn't feel like parting with him just yet.

"Ah, I'm afraid not, Jake. I have to get back to Rustboro City. But it was a pleasure meeting all of you. Niko, best of luck in your gym battle here. I'm sure you'll win handily."

"Thanks, Mr. Briney. And thanks for everything you've done for us. I really appreciate it all!" Niko said, shaking the old man's hand. Peeko cawed out cheerfully as the group said farewell to Briney, watching the ship sail off into the distance.

"Niko…I'm going to miss him," Jake said, holding mudkip in his arms.

"I know buddy, me too. Anyways! Let's head to the pokémon center. I'm starving!"

The group then proceeded to look around for the pokémon center, instead finding a place called Dewford Hall. Thinking it was the pokémon center, and walking inside, they saw a large crowd of people all conversing loudly.

"This…this isn't the pokémon center, is it?" Niko asked curiously.

"If it is, then Dewford Town is definitely an odd place already," JJ muttered, holding azurill and looking around, wondering what exactly they stumbled upon. Moments later, a woman with large glasses and frizzled hair ran right up to the curly blonde JJ and stared him down intently. "Uh…hello?"

"HI!" The woman cried out in a high-pitched tone. "ARE YOU HERE FOR THE FAN CLUB MEETING?"

"Fan club…?" Niko asked, with some caution in his tone. He didn't have the fondest of memories of the fan club, as if grandfather had run the one back in Kanto, and up until his visit there Niko had not had the strongest relationship with him.

"YES! THE DEWFORD TOWN POKEMON FAN CLUB. THE MOST EXCLUSIVE AND PRESTIGIOUS OF ALL FAN CLUBS. IGNORE THE ONE IN LILYCOVE CITY. THEY'RE A BUNCH OF FAKES!" The woman continued shouting loudly.

"Okay okay…can you please stop yelling in my ear?" JJ said, holding a hand out in front of the woman. She seemed to calm down for a moment, looking at JJ through her enormous glasses and blinking bemusedly.

"Yeah…sure thing pal."

"Great. Thanks," JJ said, massaging his right ear. "Now, this is a fan club, right? We're only here visiting, we don't actually live in Dewford Town."

"Yeah, my name's Niko, and these are my friends JJ and Brittany, and my brother, Jake. I'm here to challenge the Dewford gym leader and earn a badge."

"Oh, I see…" the woman said, looking dejected. "Well, where are you guys from?"

"Pallet Town in Kanto," Niko and JJ said in unison.

"Vermilion City," Brittany said plainly, and certainly not expecting the reaction from the strange woman.

"VERMILION CITY? ARE YOU A MEMBER OF THE FAN CLUB THERE?" She shouted, this time in Brittany's ear. The brunette, who was holding a frightened pichu, covered one ear and cringed.

"N-no…no I'm not."

Niko sighed, hesitating before saying what he was about to say. "My grandfather runs that fan club, actually…"

The woman, hearing this, exploded in excitement, grabbing ahold of Niko's hand and dragging him around the club, showing him off to everyone. The other three watched with a mixture of amusement and concern as their brown-haired friend was treated like a small celebrity. After a while, Niko finally returned, clutching his wrist tightly.

"So…?" JJ asked in a teasing tone. "You're pretty popular now, aren't you?"

"Niko, I think you've found your career," Brittany said, adding to the roast of her friend.

"Oh, shut it you two. They just wanted to meet me, I'm nothing special. They might want to come and watch my gym battle, which I think I'll have tomorrow, provided that the gym is open."

"Why do you say that?" Brittany asked.

"Well, according to these people, the gym leader is often out, usually surfing. I'll need to catch him at a good time to battle."

"Makes sense, we did see some surfers on our way here," JJ said, "Anyways, if you're done signing autographs, we'd love for you to join us for lunch."

Niko frowned at his friend as the four made their way out of Dewford Hall and towards some seaside restaurant. After being seated rather quickly, they looked out onto the ocean and saw a group of young people surfing with their pokémon. Turning back to one another, they began to talk amongst one another.

"Hey, Niko," Brittany said, turning to her blue-eyed friend. Niko looked up to address her, but Brittany continued. "The next gym is in Mauville City, but can we stop in Slateport City on the way?"

"Yeah, sure, why though?"

"Brittany read something about pokémon contests in a magazine, and wants to check them out. The nearest one is in Slateport, which is the nearest town to us, and is in between us and Mauville."

"Sure, we can go and watch you compete," Niko said, almost instinctively. Brittany gasped quietly, blushing a little. "What?"

"Oh, nothing…I just didn't think I would compete."

"You totally should though!" Niko urged. "I mean, why not?"

"Do you even know what contests are?" JJ asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nope, not at all!" JJ facepalmed, but it was Brittany who explained all she knew about them. Still, Niko urged her to at least try one, and she quickly nodded in acceptance.

"Sure, Niko, I'll try it," Brittany said appreciatively before eating her sandwich.

* * *

After heading to the pokémon center to drop off their bags, the group decided to spend the rest of the day checking out the island. They laid on the beach for an hour or so, watching Niko train while Brittany tried to figure out how to prepare for a pokémon contest. Instead she ended up training her pokémon as well, allowing pichu to use its moves and for torchic to practice learning some new ones, like ember.

An hour later, Niko and Brittany—who were jointly training at this point—stumbled upon a cave entrance while on a run with treecko, torchic, taillow, and wartortle. The brunette turned to their friends, both sitting in the sand watching the surfers, and called out to them.

"Hey! You two! Come over here! We found something!"

JJ and Jake ran over, pokémon in hand, to meet Niko and Brittany. JJ turned to his friends with a curious look on his face.

"Where do you think it leads to?" He asked. Niko shrugged and, with his two pokémon at his side, walked in. As they entered the cave, they saw a teal-haired man was walking around, studying the walls. The group walked up to him, and when they were within eyesight, he turned and smiled.

"Oh, well hello there," he said calmly. "Visiting the Granite Cave too, I see."

"Uh, yeah, we just happened to stumble upon it. Sorry if we're in your way," Niko said, holding his hands up a little to express caution. The man simply shook his head, smiling.

"No, don't worry. You're not bothering me at all. I'm simply exercising my right to view the natural world at my leisure. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Steven Stone, head of Devon Corporation. And who might you all be?"

"My name is Niko, and these are my friends, Brittany and JJ, and my brother, Jake. Pleasure to meet you," Niko said, shaking Steven's hand.

"The pleasure is all mine, Niko. Say, if I may ask, what exactly are you doing here?"

"Well, I was training for a gym battle when Brittany and I came across this cave, and we just decided to explore it. That's all."

"Did we do anything wrong?" Jake asked, looking up at Niko. Once again Steven shook his head.

"No, Jake, you did nothing wrong. The Granite Cave is a favorite spot for rock collectors, such as myself. You see, both in my capacity as head of Devon Corp, and as a hobby, I collect rare stones. And I'm here because I heard of rumors of an unexplored chamber somewhere around here, and figured I'd come and check it out."

"May we see it?" JJ asked in as polite of a tone as he possibly could. Now, Steven nodded.

"Of course you may. Follow me, I think it's over here."

Steven then led the four trainers down a narrow passageway. While walking down, he talked in some depth with Niko about his gym challenge. Niko mentioned that he was about to challenge the Dewford gym, and Steven listened intently when Brittany and JJ touted his Top 8 finish in the Silver Conference.

"Ah, Niko, so I see you're a bit more reserved about your accomplishments. I know what you mean."

"Do you?"

"Yes. I understand the interest in not wanting to brag, since too much of it can lead to vanity. However, the Silver Conference is tough, you should be proud of yourself."

"I am, actually," Niko said honestly. They continued to talk for a bit before reaching a small chamber. In it was a rather large painting of sorts depicting some sort of story. However, that's not what concerned the group and Steven, since they saw a small pokémon lying unconscious on the floor in the middle of the room.

"Oh my god…what happened…?" Steven said softly, running over to the pokemon's aid. It was a tiny gray pokémon, with a large steel head and four stubby steel legs. Its back was covered in steel plates as well, with a blunt spike protruding from its back. Jake pulled out his pokédex to get an idea of what it was:

" _Aron, the iron armor pokémon. Steel and rock type. A pokémon that is clad in steel armor. A new suit of armor is made when it evolves. The old, discarded armor is salvaged as metal for making iron products._ "

"Is it okay, Steven?" Niko asked, getting down on his knees next to the rock collector.

"I think so. It looks like it just took a nasty hit to the head. That's weird, though—aron are pretty sturdy pokémon. What could have hurt it so badly?"

"No idea," JJ said, looking around with azurill in his arms. They toured the room, looking for signs while Brittany pulled out a potion from her bag to help aron and gave it to Niko.

"Hey, buddy, here you go. This should feel better," Niko said as he applied the potion to the unconscious aron's head. As he did so, the pokémon began to wake up, with the first thing it saw through its left eye being Niko, and then Steven, and then Brittany and Jake, all of whom showing a mixture of happiness and concern. Niko then turned to Steven again. "It'll be alright, won't it?"

"Should be. Again, it's hard to imagine what caused this, but you certainly did the right thing. I specialize in steel and rock types, actually, and it looks to me like aron will be just fine."

Niko smiled. He began to get up when the little steel pokémon struggled to get up too. The brown-haired trainer looked down again at aron, who was now standing up, albeit weakly.

"Maybe we should take it to the pokémon center," Niko said as he tried to pick up aron. Realizing he couldn't, Jake pulled out the pokédex again as it read out the weight of aron. "132.3 lbs," Niko sighed loudly, "Great, well, come on aron, we're gonna take you to the pokémon center. The people there can heal you up better than I can."

Niko began to walk slowly, the aron waddling at his side. JJ and Jake walked in front while Brittany and Steven held up the rear of their group. Half an hour later they were back at the pokémon center, and Nurse Joy happily took in the aron. Niko and the group sat at a booth with Steven, having an early dinner while they waited for aron to get better. During this time Steven spoke with Niko about the gym in Dewford.

"Brawly is, well, an interesting guy. He loves battling, and loves to surf. You'll notice a different kind of gym leader than you might be used to, since his battling style is a little unorthodox. He treats battles as if he is surfing, and so his pokémon are surprisingly graceful."

"What do you mean by 'surprisingly?'" Niko wondered.

"You'll see what I mean when you face him. Oh, it looks like aron is out now," Steven said as he turned to get up, with Niko and the group following him. Aron waddled out with Nurse Joy behind it. It looked much happier now. Steven and Niko both got down on their knees to see the steel pokémon. It looked up at both of them, somehow looking happier.

"Feeling better?" Niko asked. Aron nodded before waddling up to Niko and rubbing its head against his leg. "Haha, alright aron, let's get you back to your cave, alright?" Aron didn't move, though, even when Niko got up and began to walk towards the doors.

Steven walked up to Niko and grasped his shoulder. Niko turned around to see the rock collector holding a pokéball in his hands.

"I think it wants to join you, Niko," Steven said, smiling warmly. Niko took the pokéball and turned to aron, who nodded its head happily.

"Alright then. Aron, you want to join me on my journey?" Once again, aron nodded as Niko tossed the pokéball onto the ground. Aron waddled over, tapped the button with its head, and immediately went inside. The pokéball wiggled around for a bit before clicking, signaling that Niko had caught the pokémon. Steven patted Niko on the shoulder once again to express his congratulations.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get going. I'm needed in Rustboro City early in the morning for a meeting. Niko, best of luck with your gym battle."

With that, Steven left the pokémon center and disappeared, leaving the group alone. Niko turned to his friends, smiled, and proceeded back to their booth to talk about his upcoming gym battle. An hour later, they were in bed, with Niko only able to concentrate on his battle the following morning.


	10. Riding the wave to victory!

**Episode 10: Riding the wave to victory!**

Niko spent the next morning with his team, preparing for the gym battle as well as introducing aron to his team. The three seemed to get along, but treecko figured out how hard aron was the difficult way, accidentally hurting itself trying to slap it on the back, as it had observed Niko and his friends do from time to time.

While treecko and taillow were busy with some final training, Niko sat down with aron on a nearby rock on the beach and tried to see what moves it could learn. With the help of the pokédex, he figured out that the iron armor pokémon knew tackle, sand attack, mud slap, and headbutt.

"Well, that's certainly more moves than either these two know. But hey, since I just caught you, I don't think I'll use you in this gym match, if that's okay. I want to get a feel for your battling style and strength first. Unless, of course, the gym leader has three pokémon, in which case I might have to use you. Do you understand?"

Aron seemed to get what Niko was trying to communicate, and nodded accordingly. Smiling, Niko called back his pokémon and gave them a quick pep talk before turning back to the pokémon center, where he found JJ, Brittany, and Jake sitting at their usual booth having breakfast, their pokémon sitting on the ground next to them.

"Morning, Niko!" Brittany said joyfully. "Ready for the match today?"

"Looks like it. Treecko and taillow are ready as ever."

"So you only plan on using those two today?" JJ asked with some food in his mouth. Cringing slightly, Niko nodded.

"Yeah, I'd rather not have aron go into a gym battle immediately. I don't know how strong it is yet. I actually just learned its moveset."

The group continued with their food before proceeding to the gym. As they did so, they passed Dewford Hall by accident. Moments after passing by the building, Niko heard a crowd of people following behind him. Turning around, he saw the entire fan club walking behind him and his friends.

"Uh…hello?"

"WE'RE HERE TO CHEER YOU ON IN YOUR BATTLE AGAINST BRAWLY," The same frizzly-haired woman yelled out.

Niko nodded bemusedly before turning back around on one heel and continuing his walk to the gym.

The Dewford gym was not much of a building—rather, a cave with a moat surrounding a battlefield. Niko looked around while the fan club, Brittany, Jake, and JJ all took their seats in the stands. The sheer number of people who joined was enough to grab the attention of the gym's judge, who walked into the back chamber, presumably to alert the gym leader. Soon enough, a tall, well-built man with spiky sky-blue hair walked out.

"Yo, what's up dude?" Brawly said with a stereotypical surfer accent. "Here to challenge my gym?"

"Yes," Niko said with authority in his tone. "My name is Niko. I'm from Pallet Town, and I'm here to challenge you for your gym badge."

"Right on bro," Brawly said as he stepped up to his end of the field. "I see you've got a crowd. Nice work, man," He said, waving to the crowd before turning his attention back to Niko. "Now, this gym battle will be a two-on-two pokémon battle, you got that?"

"Sure do," Niko said, pulling out his first pokéball.

"Excellent. Now, machop, I choose you!"

"Treecko, let's go!" Niko shouted as he summoned his wood gecko pokémon. "Use pound!"

"Machop, use bulk up, and then follow up with karate chop!" Brawly commanded. The superpower pokémon puffed out its chest and arms before taking treecko's pound and retaliating with a karate chop to the head, knocking the grass type to the ground. Treecko then immediately got back up and spun its tail back and forth, trying to hit machop as it parried each blow. The fighting type then grabbed treecko's tail and lifted the grass type into the air, slamming it back down on the ground, face-first.

"Treecko! Are you alright buddy?" Niko asked. Treecko slowly got back up only to be hit with another karate chop to the back, knocking it to the ground once more. This repeated a few times before treecko and Niko finally had enough. "Treecko, use absorb!"

The wood gecko turned around and grabbed onto machop's arm, sucking the energy out of it. The fighting type cried out in pain as it got onto its knees as treecko continued to swap its health with its opponent. Treecko then let go before whacking the superpower pokémon in the face with its tail.

"Machop, get up dude! You can do this! Use karate chop again!" Brawly commanded. The fighting up immediately got back up and began swinging a barrage of karate chops at treecko, who managed to dodge most of them before slamming its tail into machop once again, nearly knocking its opponent off of its feet. The two continued this give-and-take of karate chops and pounds before they found themselves at the edge of the battlefield, overlooking the moat of water below.

"Treecko, use absorb!" Niko commanded.

"Machop, seismic toss!" Brawly shouted.

As treecko reached its hand out to grab machop, the superpower pokémon shifted slightly to the right and slammed a karate chop onto treecko before grabbing its other arm and swinging it around, ultimately tossing it across to the other end of the field. Treecko rolled onto the ground like a rag doll, struggling to get back up.

"Treecko! You can do this buddy! Use pound!" Niko shouted. Treecko got up, its vision a little blurry, and rushed at machop. Halfway towards its opponent, the wood gecko leapt into the air and somersaulted. As it landed onto machop, the superpower pokémon grabbed the tail and slammed treecko into the ground, just as Roxanne's geodude had in Niko's previous gym battle. Only this time, machop continually slammed the grass type into the ground before leaping into the air itself and preparing to slam a karate chop onto treecko's face.

Fortunately, treecko was able to roll out of the way quickly enough and spun around to leap back at machop. The wood gecko wrapped its arms around the fighting type as it used absorb to suck the rest of the energy out of machop.

"Machop is unable to battle, treecko wins! Brawly will now send out his second pokémon!" The judge stated.

"Hariyama, I choose you!" Brawly shouted, summoning a rather large, sumo-like pokémon. Worried, Jake pulled out his pokédex to take a look at the unfamiliar pokémon:

" _Hariyama, the arm thrust pokémon. Fighting type. It has the habit of challenging others without hesitation to tests of strength. It's been known to stand on train tracks and stop trains using forearm thrusts_."

"Oh…my god," Brittany and Jake said simultaneously, each with a look of concern. This didn't bode well for Niko, who was equally surprised by the sheer size of hariyama.

"Hariyama, use bulk up!" Brawly commanded. The arm thrust pokémon then flexed its muscles, revealing a surprising amount of strength under its body. The whole time, Niko and treecko stood frozen, both unsure of how to handle this. "Now, use arm thrust!"

Hariyama shot forward with incredible speed, thrusting its large hands downwards at treecko, who was able to agilely evade each one, leaping left and right when it needed to. It then leapt into the air and somersaulted before slamming its tail onto hariyama's head. Luckily, this time treecko was able to land, as it caught the fighting type off guard. However, once hariyama recovered from the hit it slapped treecko to the side with the palm of its hand, nearly knocking the wood gecko off of the raised battlefield.

Treecko slowly got back up and immediately ran at hariyama, who dodged and used arm thrust at its opponent, knocking treecko once again off its feet. But the grass type wouldn't give in, leaping back up into the air to use pound, but instead Niko commanded it to switch and the last second. Treecko landed on hariyama's head and covered its eyes while using absorb. The fighting type yelled out as treecko continued to drain its energy.

"Hariyama, remember to calm down, dude…" Brawly said softly. "Ride the wave, don't resist it…"

Hariyama then calmed down, focusing less on the energy being sapped from it and more on where treecko was in relation to it. The arm thrust pokémon then thrust its hands into the arm, grabbing treecko before it could move and slammed it into the ground.

"Treecko is unable to battle, hariyama wins! Niko will send out his second pokémon!"

"Taillow, I choose you!" Niko commanded, summoned his swallow pokémon. "Let's start off with a quick attack!"

The flying type rushed at hariyama with blinding speed, but the fighting type was nearly as fast, using arm thrust to swat away taillow as the two pokémon collided, only dealing hariyama a minimal amount of damage. Taillow crashed into the ground before getting back into the air just as quickly, moving back in to use a combination of quick attack and peck as Niko commanded. The attack successfully hit, but once more taillow was swatted away. It seemed that it wouldn't be able to get a hit in without getting hit back, Niko observed. He then commanded taillow to fly in a circle above hariyama to increase its speed while he tried to figure something out.

It didn't take long, as Niko began to notice something. As taillow was moving, it began to create images of itself flying. Not quite understanding how this worked, He tried to take advantage of it as best he could.

"Taillow, use peck!" Niko shouted. The tiny swallow then shot down from behind its opponent, but its image gave hariyama the impression that it was moving from the front. Hariyama cried out as it took the high-speed peck to the back, nearly keeling over. "Now, use quick attack!"

"Hariyama, bulk up!" Brawly commanded. The arm thrust pokémon flexed once more as taillow collided with its back once again, nearly falling over from the impact, as hariyama was nearly as hard as a rock at this point. "Now, use arm thrust!"

The fighting type turned around to face a weakened taillow and shot its arm down at it. The attack landed successfully, or so it seemed. However, once hariyama lifted its hand to see the damage done, it noticed that taillow wasn't there.

"Now taillow! Use quick attack!" Niko commanded. Hariyama turned around as it got smacked in the face by the tiny swallow, knocking it on its back. "Finish it off with quick attack and peck!"

"Hariyama, bulk up!" Brawly shouted, hoping for a saving grace. Taillow collided with the outstretched hand, but due to its speed it was able to roll off of the palm quickly enough to fall further towards hariyama, pecking it in the face before lifting itself back into the air, weakly fluttering its wings in midair.

"Hariyama is unable to battle, taillow wins! The victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!" The judge declared.

"Taillow! We did it!" Niko shouted as taillow flew over to its trainer, perching on Niko's shoulder while the brown-haired trainer rubbed its back affectionately. Moments later, Brawly walked over to Niko's end of the battlefield, a badge in the palm of his hand. Niko examined the badge, which was in the shape of a blue boxing glove, before picking it up with his fingers and showing it to taillow.

"Niko, you really made a bigger splash than I expected. Guess I need to keep training, heh," the gym leader said as he rubbed the back of his head. "Anyways, here is the knuckle badge. You've def earned it!"

"Thanks, Brawly. I enjoyed battling with you. Your hariyama…was not what I expected, to be honest," Niko then held out his hand. Brawly returned the shake and smiled.

After talking briefly with members of Dewford Hall, Niko and his friends walked out of the gym and looked out to the sea.

"So, Slateport City it is, then?" Niko asked, turning to Brittany, who returned the look with a smile.

"Yep, Slateport City. Although, I don't know how we'll get there."

"We can take you there."

"Huh?" Niko, Brittany, and JJ all said unanimously, turning around to see the frizzly-haired woman with a couple members of the fan club standing behind her.

"We've got a boat, and what kind of fan club would we be if we didn't help out those in need?" She asked in a rather quirky tone.

"Well, we don't want to—"

"NONSENSE!" She shouted. "You'll take it!"

Niko backed up a step, waving his hands in front of him with caution. "A-alright, I get it. You can help. Thank you so much!"

"No problem!" She said, smiling. "Name's Sara, by the way. We'll have your boat ready in a couple hours, please meet us by the docks by then, alright?"

The group nodded, and quickly went off to the pokémon center to gather their things and eat lunch before heading off to Slateport City.


	11. The Forsaken Ship

**Episode 11: The Forsaken Ship**

Thanks to Sara, a member of Dewford Hall (and, evidently, a fan of Niko's), the group made their way to Slateport City, where Brittany would participate in her first pokémon contest. They were riding on a speedboat courtesy of Sara and the club, with just enough seats for the four trainers and the frizzly-haired fan.

According to JJ, the trip would take under a day if they didn't stop. If they did make a stop, they'd arrive late in the evening or early in the morning. For most of the trip, things seemed to be going just fine: the group was talking about unimportant things, with Sara occasionally butting in with a high-pitched comment. They had only been on the water for a couple of hours before Jake spotted something off in the distance.

"Niko, what is that?" He shouted above the motor of the speedboat. The brown-haired trainer turned in the same direction as his brother, immediately noticing the same thing: a massive ship.

"Hey, Sara, what's that ship doing there? It doesn't seem to be moving!" Niko shouted to their frizzly-haired friend.

"That's the Forsaken Ship, don't worry about it!" Sara yelled back just as they heard an explosion erupt from the back of the ship, creating large waves that rippled in every direction. The speedboat shook violently in the aftermath of the explosion.

"We should go see if anyone is in there!" Brittany, in a sudden—and rather unexpected—bout of courage, said.

JJ beamed at her in shock. "Are you serious? It just _exploded_! Are you mad woman!?"

"N-no…no I'm not!" Brittany said, huffing a little.

"Let's go check it out," Niko said, turning back to Brittany and nodding, tacitly supporting her idea. The brunette nodded back, and with a sigh of hesitation, Sara directed the speedboat towards the Forsaken Ship.

The ship, still on fire, was held up on a bed of rocks, suspending it in motion as if it were still operable. The speedboat stopped on its left side, and the group and Sara got out and climbed a nearby ladder, presumably made for visitors such as themselves.

Niko looked down the ship at the remains from the explosion, turned to his friends, and began running down. Brittany immediately followed, and lastly JJ. Jake wanted to go, but Sara stopped him, commenting that he was much too young to be dealing with things like this.

The flames that resulted from the explosion were beginning to die down as it began to rain. Niko looked around at the rear end of the boat.

"Well, there definitely was an explosion here," Niko said, raising an eyebrow as he cautiously leaned over the back rail to see what had happened. There was a large, gaping hole in the back that seemed to blow out parts of the bottom and top of the ship, and left most of the side walls intact. The back wall of the ship was completely obliterated, allowing the three trainers to see inside it.

"Now what?" JJ, who didn't seem too excited to be at the ship, asked. Niko turned to him and shrugged. "You're kidding me… _you_ wanted to come here, and now _you_ don't even have a plan?"

"Well, we could go down and see if any people or pokémon are hurt. I can't imagine they would be, since this place is abandoned, but hey, it's a good opportunity to go and explore the place, right?" Niko said, patting JJ's shoulder as he and Brittany began walking towards a nearby door, motioning for Jake and Sara to join them.

The group walked around the inside of the ship. It was damp, dark, and looked to be crawling with unknown pokémon. Niko asked if Brittany's pichu would be able to use its electric abilities to light the place up, but Sara interjected, summoning a pokémon of her own: chinchou.

The angler pokémon then lit up the two bulbs hanging off its head and illuminated the room they were in. By all accounts, it looked like any ordinary cruise ship. There were doors leading to rooms all down the hallway, and a set of stairs after every ten or so rooms.

As they were walking down the hallway, they suddenly heard an odd noise coming from one of the rooms. Creeping up to it, the group held their ears up to the door and heard a deep moaning sound coming from inside. Niko backed away nervously, as did JJ, Brittany, and Sara. In fact, it was Jake—of all people—who opened the door, albeit slowly. Peering into the room beyond, the younger brother gasped audibly at the sight.

In the middle of the room was a small blue pokémon who clearly looked frightened. Surrounding it were several clouds of fog that swirled in a circular motion. Niko cowered a little at the sight as Jake summoned mudkip to help out the pokémon.

"Mudkip, let's go buddy! Save the pokémon over there!" Jake commanded.

"Wait, Jake! Hold on!" Niko shouted, pulling out a pokéball of his own. "You need to think these things through first. Taillow, go and help mudkip!"

The tiny swallow pokémon burst out of its pokéball in pursuit of mudkip, who was already racing towards the tiny blue pokémon. As the mud fish got closer, the clouds of fog descended upon it, frightening the water type into paralysis. Taillow then jerked forward, attempting to use quick attack, but found that it was unable to do so.

"Shroomish, come on out!" JJ commanded in an attempt to help out. "Use stun spore on the clouds of fog!"

The mushroom pokémon released a puff of yellow spores from the top of its head into the air, tying to concentrate them in a single direction towards the clouds. It accidentally hit taillow, who collapsed onto the ground, also paralyzed like mudkip.

"Hmm…well, whatever they are, they're clearly ghost types. Umbreon, let's go! Use faint attack!"

As JJ summoned his starter pokémon, the fogs began to reveal themselves. Out came small little puppet-like pokémon that was covered in a gray cloth with a pointed horn on top and yellow and dark blue eyes. JJ pulled out his pokédex to get a better understanding:

" _Shuppet, the puppet pokémon. Ghost type. This pokémon roams about deep in the night seeking such negative emotions as grudges and envy It retreats to its nest when the sun begins to rise_."

Next to the shuppet appeared another pokémon, a floating creature in a black robe with two bones on its back and a mask that resembled a skull. A single red eye was floating between the skull's eye sockets. Again, JJ looked at his pokédex to get information:

" _Duskull, the requiem pokémon. Ghost type. A glare from its single scarlet eye makes even burly grown-ups freeze in utter fear. It is a nocturnal pokémon that roams about under the cloak of darkness_."

Umbreon rushed forward and disappeared before suddenly reappearing behind one of the shuppets, slamming into it as it took a shadow ball from a duskull to its side, causing it to crash back down into the ground. The shuppets and duskulls all turned to the group, who each had pokéballs at the ready.

"Treecko, use absorb!" Niko shouted.

"Umbreon, get back up and use faint attack!" JJ commanded.

"Torchic, let's go! Use ember!"

"Mudkip! Can you get up?" Jake said, running under the fire of the attacks towards his paralyzed pokémon. Mudkip looked up at its trainer. It had taken quite the scare, but was feeling ready to move again. Noticing this, Jake nodded. "Alright, let's show these guys what we're made of. Mudkip, use water gun!"

The mud fish pokémon breathed in some air before releasing a burst of water at one of the duskull, sending it hurtling towards a wall. It phased through and back, summoning a shadow ball at mudkip. As the mud fish prepared to use water gun to block the move, treecko jumped forward and took the hit, collapsing the wood gecko to the ground. Noticing this, mudkip unleashed a stronger burst of water, albeit out of anger, at the duskull, this time sending it flying through the wall behind it. Taillow, who had just gotten over the stun spore, rushed to treecko's side and helped it up and took it over to Niko, who tended to the two pokémon while the rest fought.

Torchic managed to set one of the shuppet's one fire while shroomish paralyzed it with stun spore, knocking one out. Umbreon managed to take down a duskull and shuppet on its own with faint attack, and taillow—recently getting back into the fight—took down the final duskull with a peck attack. Noticing the power of the group's pokémon, the ghosts fled the room, leaving the five trainers with the little blue pokémon.

It was a tiny little pokémon, only a couple feet tall (at best). It had no arms, only two long ears and some sort of bulbous growth on its forehead. Most notably, it had a wide mouth and seemed to be chittering in fear. Crouching down, Jake pulled out his pokédex to examine the little pokémon:

" _Wynaut, the bright pokémon. Psychic type. A wynaut loves to eat sweet fruits. It cleverly picks fruits using its earlike arms. They gather in fruit gardens, drawn by the fragrance_."

"Why is it here, of all places?" JJ asked as Jake was trying to calm the wynaut down.

"Why…not?" Niko asked, laughing a little at his own pun. Brittany shifted her eyes to Niko, trying to look more serious than she actually was, since she found the pun to be a little hilarious.

"Niko…" JJ said, shaking his head. "You know what I mean…"

"I do, JJ, I just don't have the answers you're looking for."

Just then, they heard someone running down the hallway. Moments later, a little girl with blonde hair and pigtails and another young blonde woman in a white pikachu t-shirt and denim shorts (who looked to be her older sister) peered in through the doorway. The little girl squealed, and suddenly the wynaut sprang up and ran towards her.

"Wyny! You're safe!" She shouted, hugging the wynaut tightly. The young woman approached JJ and the group, turned back fondly towards the little girl.

"Did you find this wynaut?" She asked, pointed over her shoulder.

"Yeah, we were touring the ship after the explosion and found some ghost pokémon terrorizing the wynaut. We shooed them away. Why? Is it hers?" JJ explained.

The young woman nodded. "Indeed, it is. I guess I should be thanking you. We were here visiting the ship, since Lacey here likes spooky stuff, and we heard the explosion only a couple doors down. It frightened Wyny and moments after the explosion, he was gone. We've been searching for it for the past hour, so I should really be thanking you all for this."

"No problem. Happy to help, I guess," Niko said, rubbing the back of his neck. The young woman nodded and beckoned Lacey to get up as they left the room. Lacey waved and thanked the group, with Wyny crying out cheerfully as they were out of sight.

For a moment, the group simply stood there, not quite sure what had happened.

"You know guys," Niko said, "I'm happy that we helped that girl and all, but I think we should get going. It's been a strange day already."

Brittany and JJ nodded. Sara, who was silent for most of this, concurred and followed the rest of the group out with her chinchou leading the way.

As they got back into the boat and continued on their journey to Slateport City, Sara mentioned something that seemed to send a slight chill down the group's backs.

"You know, it's weird. Duskull and shuppet aren't native to this part of Hoenn. For them to appear there, out of the blue, is very strange."

Niko turned around, watching the Forsaken Ship disappear into the distance, wondering what Sara meant. He quickly put it out of his mind, though, as they looked forward towards the ocean ahead, and Slateport City.


	12. Attack at the museum!

**Episode 12: Attack at the museum!**

Due to the detour on the Forsaken Ship, the group arrived in Slateport City late into the evening. As it turned out, the city was still quite a walk away, due to the size of the beach that separated the city from the water.

Figuring that the pokémon center was closed, the group decided to spend the night on the beach, laying down in sleeping bags on the cold sand. At one point while they were all still awake, JJ pitched the idea of finding a hotel, but Brittany replied with the fact that those were generally more expensive, and that the group could spend their money elsewhere. Figuring that she was right, JJ immediately went to sleep, followed by Brittany, Jake, and finally Niko.

The following morning, they all got up at roughly the same time—after a few hours of sleep—and dragged themselves into the pokémon center, checked into a room (free of charge, as per usual), and fell back to sleep. Niko, who generally had difficulty falling asleep when the sun was out, decided to get back out of bed and walk around town. He figured that, with the contest and all, they might be in Slateport for a couple of days, and so getting a feel for where things were would be to his advantage.

Slateport City was the premier port town in the Hoenn region, and it showed. In addition to the rather large farmer's market, there were foreign shops scattered across the town. Niko walked in to check out anything that may have been Kanto or Johto specific. Not seeing much, he continued through the town, stopping to watch a pokémon match in one of the city squares.

The city was also known for its Oceanic Museum. Figuring the others would be interested in it, Niko tabled the idea in his mind and decided instead to head to the beach to do some training.

"Alright, treecko, taillow, aron, let's go!" Niko said, summoning his team of pokémon. "We've got some free time, and I kind of want to get some training in, since I don't know how long we'll be here, nor how long it'll take to get to Mauville City," He then clapped his hands authoritatively. "Taillow, I kind of want us to work on learning wing attack. It's not terribly difficult—I've taught it to other pokémon before, so trust me on this—all you have to do is straighten your wings out, like so," Niko said as he held both arms straight out and ran around, pretending that he was flying. Taillow and treecko, realizing how absurd this looked, roared with laughter, which resulted in Niko scowling and halting his demonstration. "Alright, you get my point though, right? I want you to work on that for a bit. Treecko, I'll need you to help me with aron."

Niko then asked for the two pokémon to battle. He explained that he wanted to test aron's strengths. Turns out that aron was a rather sturdy pokémon—it didn't budge regardless of how strong treecko's attacks were. Even against absorb, it hardly flinched, but Niko could tell that it was taking the damage. This proved to be a new type of training for the young trainer—he didn't really have a pokémon as defensive as aron. The closest he ever got was either magneton or even venusaur, but otherwise his pokémon were fast and largely offensive battlers. Thinking this through, Niko tried to come up with ways he could incorporate that into strategy. Coming up with nothing, he continued with the training for a bit.

After an hour or so of running through moves, he returned his team and proceeded to walk back to the pokémon center, where he ran into Brittany, JJ, and Jake all leaving.

"Uh…hey guys."

"Niko, where were you?" Brittany demanded. "We were worried something happened to you."

"Oh, nothing happened. I just walked around the city for a bit and did some training. Guys, there's this cool Oceanic Museum that I think we could check out!"

"Did you happen to see where the pokémon contest would be held?" Brittany asked, less demanding this time.

"No, no I did not. But I didn't check the northern part of the city, so maybe it's there?" Niko answered, shrugging.

"Yep, that's correct. It's close to the route directly north of here, route 110. Brittany, when did the magazine say the contest was being held?"

"Tomorrow, I think," Brittany replied, looking up at the sky, as if searching for her answer.

"Maybe we should go get you registered first," Niko said, grabbing Brittany's arm and dragging her a couple feet before she let go and walked on her own. He could tell she was a little nervous, especially since she had no idea what she was doing. The group walked up to the Contest Hall in the northern part of the city and entered the building.

The Contest Hall was enormous. In the lobby, there were trainers either walking around with their pokémon or dressing them up, for whatever reason. Niko urged Brittany forward, as she was frozen in place, and motioned her to the front desk, where a woman in a pantsuit was sitting, ready to take questions.

"Hello there, how are you doing?" She asked in a sort of motherly tone. Brittany stepped forward.

"H-hello there. My name is Brittany, and I'm from Vermilion City in Kanto. I'm interested in participating in a Pokémon Contest, but I've never done one before. How do I enter?"

"Oh, no problem, sweetie. Here, I'll get you set up. May I see your pokédex?" Brittany handed it over while the lady registered it in a machine sitting next to her. "Alright then, I've got a list of pokémon you own. It just helps the judges when they're preparing to watch."

"J-judges?"

"Oh, yes sweetie. You're not familiar with how contests go?" Brittany shook her head. "Oh, no worries then. I'll run you through it with you quickly. Contests are conducted in two parts: a Performance Stage, and a Battle Stage. In the Performance Stage, you just showcase the moves your pokémon know, and the judges will score it based on style and skill. In the Battle Stage, you battle another contestant. Now, keep this in mind, because most newbies forget it: it isn't a typical battle like you might be used to. You have to show style and skill while trying to defeat your opponent. Each battle lasts five minutes, and whoever has the most points remaining wins the battle. Otherwise, the Battle Stage is tournament-style, like the pokémon league conferences. Oh! And one more thing: this is specific to the Hoenn region only, as other regions have different rules. You have to use the same pokémon for both rounds, so choose wisely. Any questions?"

Brittany nervously shook her head. It was a lot to take in, and she didn't really know how to respond, other than with a "thanks" before walking away. Niko and Jake followed her as JJ approached the desk.

"What can I do for you, honey?"

"I'd like to register as well," The curly blonde said as he handed over his pokédex. Moments later, he got a contest pass, just as Brittany had minutes previously.

"But Niko! How do I even prepare for something like this? I've never seen a contest match before!" Brittany cried out anxiously as the group was walking down the street.

"Brittany, you'll be fine. We've all been in stressful situations like this before, right JJ?" Niko asked as he turned around to see his friend playing on his pokénav. JJ looked up and nodded before turning back to the device, with Jake leaning over and watching.

"I sure hope so…" Brittany said, looking down at the ground.

"I know, let's go check out the Oceanic Museum!" Niko exclaimed, only receiving the enthusiasm from Jake, which Niko expected. "It'll take your mind off of the contest for a bit. After, we can all brainstorm ways to prepare."

Brittany shrugged. "Alright, I guess so. Let's go check it out!"

Minutes later they arrived at the museum. It was a two-story located next to the water on the eastern edge of the city. After paying a small entrance fee—and JJ needlessly arguing with the receptionist—the group went inside to observe the exhibits, each with a different piece of information about the sea.

"Look, Jake, here's a fossil," Niko said, pointing to one that looked like a plant root, and the one next to it that resembled the fragment of a claw.

"Those are cool. Hey, come check out this thing about the legendary pokémon of the sea!" Jake said, pointing to a small exhibit. It only displayed an image of a whale-like pokémon with two large fins and four small tails at its rear. Its body was colored deep blue with a white chin and red markings along the fin and back.

"That must be the pokémon that scientist in Petalburg Woods was talking about," Niko commented, turning his attention away from the pokémon and off to another exhibit.

Meanwhile, Brittany and JJ were on the second floor, examining the models of ships and the Hoenn region.

"Hey, JJ, look! It's the S.S. Anne!" Brittany said, motioning her curly blonde friend over to a model of the ship that they met on nearly two years previously. JJ turned to his friend and smiled, thinking of all of their adventures since.

They didn't have much time to think, however: they heard someone yelling off to their left. Turning simultaneously, they saw two men in Team Magma garb harassing an older man in glasses.

"Team Magma?" JJ asked curiously. "What the hell are they doing here?"

"And it looks like they're bothering yet another scientist…" Brittany replied in a rather uninterested tone.

"Stern!" One of the grunts said, "You've got something that we need…now please, tell us where it is!"

"I-I've told you, over and over, that I don't know what you're talking about! Groudon and Kyogre aren't coming back! They've disappeared!"

"Nonsense!" One of the grunts said, shouting in Stern's face. "Our intel told us that you'd be the guy to go to, just like last time. And, again, you seem to be disappointing us!"

"Hey!" JJ said, interjecting. "What's going on?"

"Nothing to do with you, kid. Now, scram!"

"Don't think so. Shroomish, let's go!" JJ shouted, summoning his mushroom pokémon. "Use stun spore!"

"Oh, please," one of the grunts said before shifting away from the spores and pulling out a pokéball. "Numel, I choose you! Use ember!"

"Wartortle, you're up! Water gun!" Brittany commanded, sending out her starter pokémon to counter the numel. The ember and water gun collided, releasing a cloud of steam as a result. The second grunt, letting go of Stern, summoned a poochyena and rushed to attack shroomish, but was intercepted by the turtle pokémon, who blasted the dark type with water gun while shroomish jumped out from behind and released a stun spore on it.

Wartortle then turned back to numel and lowered its head to use skull bash, taking an ember or two before it launched itself forward. The two pokémon collided, defeating the numel, but not the grunt, who sent out a zubat in retaliation.

"Brittany? JJ? What's going on?" Niko shouted as he and Jake entered the second floor, viewing the battle going on. Instinctively, he pulled out a pokéball, but as he was about to summon a pokémon, a calming, almost emotionless voice halted him.

"Stop…fighting…" A woman appeared besides Niko and Jake, but unlike the two brothers, instead approached the grunts. She was Wearing similar clothing to the grunts, only she didn't have a hood, which allowed her light purple hair to fall down to her shoulders. She was wearing a red and black overcoat with the same Magma symbol on its front and back, with the same shirt and pants as the grunts.

"C-Courtney…" One of the grunts said. "What are you doing here?"

"Your intel was wrong. We don't need Stern. We've found our target," She said, again without emotion in her voice. "Fall back. And next time, answer your damn phone when someone calls you."

She turned, only giving a passive glance to Niko and Jake before walking away. The grunts returned their pokémon, scowled at the four trainers, and ran off behind Courtney.

"What the hell just happened there?" Niko asked, turning to the stairs.

"They needed me to help them or, well, they thought that they needed me," Stern finally said, composing himself. "My name is Captain Stern, and these Team Magma weirdos are nothing new. They needed my help years ago, before Groudon and Kyogre were reawakened. I don't know why they needed me again, but I'm glad it turns out they don't," He turned to Brittany and JJ. "Thanks for defending me. I appreciate it."

"No problem, Mr. Stern!" JJ said, petting shroomish. "We just happened to be in the right place at the right time!"

"Weird though…" Niko commented. "They wanted some guy from Devon, who was helpful to them last time, and now they want you. What's going on?"

"Could it be that they're trying to reawaken the legendary pokémon?" Brittany asked.

"Possible, but doubtful. Groudon and Kyogre are gone. No one knows of their whereabouts. Last time we had some clues, but it's been well over a decade since their last appearance, and no one knows where they went after."

"Either way, maybe it'd be worth it to keep a tab on them?" Niko suggested.

"Good idea. I'll bring that up with the authorities. Maybe they're already looking into it, since you mentioned this isn't the first case of that," Stern said before walking to the stairwell. "Again, thank you, but I must get going. I've had enough action for one day."

With that, Captain Stern exited the building, leaving the group to ponder the events of that day. Like with Petalburg Woods, they seemed to put the thoughts away, as the focus was now on Brittany and her upcoming pokémon contest.


	13. Error and assist!

**Episode 13: Error and assist!**

The day for Brittany's first pokémon contest finally arrived. The group spent the previous day working with her on strategy—what pokémon to use, and what moves she could use for that pokémon. Up until the beginning of the contest, Brittany was still unsure of what she would do, but she certainly felt better about it.

Unbeknownst to her, JJ was also entering the contest. He told Niko about it the previous night, and the latter seemed to agree with it, although he did admit that it might make Brittany uneasy at first. JJ understood this, but still wanted to keep it quiet until the contest began.

The contest began around noon of that day. Niko and Jake took their spots in the stands with the rest of the spectators while Brittany (and JJ, still unknown to her) prepared for the first round.

"Hey Niko, how do you think Brittany will react to JJ being in the contest?" The little brown-haired boy asked, mudkip sitting in his lap.

"Knowing Brittany, it'll probably make her more nervous initially, but when she realizes that she's good at this stuff, it won't be too bad."

"You think she is?"

"I think she can be if she wants to," Niko said, winking at his brother. Jake was about to reply at the stage lights turned on, illuminating a large stage in the shape of a pokéball with a standard battlefield overlaid on top of it, signaling the beginning of the contest. At a desk at the top of the pokéball were three judges, one of them being Nurse Joy. A woman approached the center of the stage. It was assumed that she would be the host, and it turns out that she was.

Meanwhile, in the backroom, Brittany was sitting on a bench with her pokéball in hand. She knew who she wanted to use and how she wanted to use it, but it was still nerve-wrecking. There would be so many people focused on her. _Her!_

"Hey, Brittany!" JJ said, startling the brunette more than he expected to.

"JJ! What the hell are you doing here!?" Brittany yelled out, almost angrily.

"I'm here to help you out. I signed up in this contest too!" JJ said, patting his friend on the back. Brittany tried to move her shoulder away, but failed to do so.

"I don't think that'll help…I'm already nervous enough as it is…"

"Brittany, you're going to be fine! You've got me, and Niko, and Jake cheering you on. And your pokémon won't fail you. I know that for a fact!"

"I hope you're right…" Brittany said, looking concerned as she watched the host begin the contest.

"Hello everyone! Welcome to the Slateport Pokémon Contest! I am Vivian Meridian, and I will be your host for today's event. For those unfamiliar with contests, I will run through them with you. There are two stages: the Performance and Battle Stages. In the Performance Stage, coordinators will show off the moves their pokémon know, and in the Battle Stage, they will show their moves in a battle—with style, of course!

"Now, let me also introduce our three judges: Slateport City's very own Nurse Joy! Mr. Contesta, and Mr. Sukizo. They will rate the performances of each coordinator's style performance, and judge the battle only in the event of a tie or when one trainer's pokémon faints. And so, without further ado, let's bring out the first coordinator today. She hails from Vermilion City in Kanto, and is new to the pokémon contest experience. Please welcome Brittany!"

The crowd cheered as the young brunette took to the stage. Trying not to stare up into the crowd—even to find Niko and Jake—Brittany looked down at her pokéball and nervously threw it into the air.

"Wartortle, I choose you! Use withdraw and spin around!"

The turtle pokémon leapt into the air, withdrawing into its shell and began to spin before it hit the ground.

"Now, use water gun out of each hole!" Brittany commanded. Wartortle did so, releasing five spinning streams of water. However, they were not focused enough, and sprayed everywhere, nearly getting the judges wet and certainly dampening Brittany's clothes. Within moments she felt that her contest career was over, and hastily withdrew wartortle, ending her performance.

"Thank you so much, Brittany!" Vivian said casually, clapping as Brittany walked off the stage. As she entered the backroom, the next coordinator had been called out.

"Hey, don't worry about it Brittany! You did just fine!" JJ said, side-hugging his friend. "You may not have noticed it, but the judges didn't look disappointed."

"They didn't…I got them wet, though."

"Well, it's just water," JJ said as his name was called. "Well, gotta go now. Catch ya later!"

"Good luck!" Brittany shouted, but it seemed that her voice was drowned out in the cheering.

JJ approached the stage after hearing his name called. Walking up to greet Vivian before beginning his performance, he turned and looked into the crowd. Compared to Brittany, he certainly looked more confident. However, under the surface he began to understand Brittany's feelings more clearly—this was definitely nerve-wrecking.

"Umbreon, let's go!" JJ commanded, summoning his moonlight pokémon amid gasps and cheers from the crowd. It's clear not many of them have seen an umbreon before. "Use dig, just like we practiced!"

The dark type shot into the ground, popping up a few feet next to its original hole. It then dug another hole, and another, before circling around JJ in full.

"Now, shadow ball from underground!" JJ ordered. Umbreon leapt back into the hole and shot out shadow ball after shadow ball, each one popping out of a different hole and rising into the air. Umbreon then finished by sending out a shadow ball from each hole simultaneously before digging up and landing in front of JJ.

"Wow! What a performance!" Vivian said as the crowd began to cheer. JJ and umbreon left the stage as Vivian announced the next performer.

"JJ did surprisingly well," Niko commented as they watched the other coordinators compete.

"Yeah, his umbreon is really strong, so it makes sense!" Jake replied, watching as mudkip was entranced by the other performances.

In the backroom, JJ and Brittany sat in silence as they watched the other coordinators take their turns. It was clear to Brittany that JJ had bested her in the Performance Stage, and if either of them were to continue on, it would be him.

Luckily, they didn't have to wait too long to find out who made it to the Battle Stage. Once the last of 14 coordinators finished, all but six managed to continue. That included both Brittany and JJ.

She did it. Brittany managed to impress the judges enough to continue on to the next round. However, she soon found out that she was competing against JJ, of all people, in the first round of the Battle Stage.

"Hey, Brittany," JJ said as he began to stand up. "Let's give them a show!"

Brittany smiled and nodded. "Yeah, sure."

They shook hands and both exited the backroom before walking onto the battlefield. A clock had been set up above the judges, as well as their pictures with a long yellow bar underneath each one. This must be how they judge the battle—not by who wins, but by who has the most points in their bar. Brittany turned from the screen to face JJ, who was ready to go as soon as Vivian said so.

"Umbreon, you're up!" JJ shouted, summoning his dark type.

"Wartortle, let's go!" Brittany commanded. "Use withdraw!"

"Umbreon, dig!" JJ shouted. The moonlight pokémon dug into the battlefield, reappearing directly under wartortle, knocking it high into the air. "Now, shadow ball!"

"Wartortle, withdraw and water gun!" Brittany, emulating her earlier performance, commanded. Wartortle spun in the air, spraying water downwards at umbreon, who managed to dodge most of it and come out relatively unharmed. As wartortle was descending back to the ground, Brittany commanded it to use skull bash. The turtle pokémon retracted its head as it gained speed going into the battlefield.

"Umbreon, faint attack and shadow ball!" JJ ordered. Just as wartortle was about to land its move, umbreon disappeared, letting the water type crash into the field, and reappeared to unleash a shadow ball at wartortle, who took it and rolled onto its back.

At this time JJ's bar was significantly higher than Brittany's, as he had only taken minimal damage. Panicking, Brittany began to worry less about the style points and more about beating JJ. She commanded wartortle to use skull bash once more, knowing exactly how JJ would respond.

"Umbreon, faint attack!"

The moonlight pokémon collided with the side of wartortle's shell, evading the skull bash and knocking the water type to the side. Wartortle quickly got back up and began running for umbreon, prepared to use another skull bash, but the latter used shadow ball to halt the former. Wartortle ducked its head into its shell, minimizing the damage, but continued on, ultimately landing a tackle to umbreon.

" _Ding ding!"_ Time was up. JJ, who had more points on his bar, had won.

"Return, wartortle. You did well," Brittany said, looking up at JJ and forcing a smile. JJ returned it, not showing any sign that he understood how she might feel right now.

Brittany immediately left the backroom and made her way into the stands where Niko and Jake were. She didn't speak much for the rest of the contest, and the brothers chose not to interact with her for that reason.

JJ's next battle was against a blonde-haired man with a little cat pokémon named skitty. _Pfft, I bet I can beat this_ , he thought, rather smugly at that. "Umbreon, use sand attack into shadow ball!"

His opponent—Robert—raised an eyebrow, allowing the shadow ball to fly right through the normal type. It was now his turn to attack.

"Skitty, use assist!" Robert commanded. The kitten pokémon meowed proudly as a white orb appeared on its front paw. It then unleashed the orb, summoning a series of small embers from its paw. Umbreon, taken aback by the move, took the attack before running towards its opponent and using faint attack. By now Robert's bar was slightly higher than JJ's, but not by much. JJ then commanded a combination of faint attack followed up by sand attack, which seemed to do some damage, but Robert continued with assist, this time using silver wind, which seemed to do a fair amount of damage to umbreon (JJ later learned that it was a bug type move).

Umbreon reeled back from the attack, as it was clearly not ready for it. Skitty then used assist one more time, this time being thunderwave, which paralyzed the moonlight pokémon.

"Skitty, tail whip!" Robert commanded. Skitty wagged its fluffy pink tail in umbreon's face. "Now, use doubleslap!"

Skitty then slapped the stunned umbreon in the face with its tail. This was enough to knock it out, resulting in a win for Robert and a loss for JJ.

"Umbreon is unable to battle, skitty wins! And Robert from Lilycove City is the winner of this round, and will proceed on to the finals!" Vivian announced. JJ shook his opponent's hand before exiting the stage and later the backroom before meeting up with his friends in the stands. Like Brittany, he chose not to talk too much about the contest, but still made small talk with Niko and Jake about the final round in the Battle Stage, which Robert ultimately won with skitty.

* * *

Brittany sat on her bed in the Slateport City pokémon center, looking out the window at the city beyond. Next to her sat pichu and wartortle, the latter also not sure how to feel. Brittany had apologized to wartortle, but the turtle pokémon didn't seem to care much for it.

She felt like she finally found something that she could reasonably do, and failed utterly at it. _Maybe JJ is better fit for contests than I am. I can hardly make it through the Performance Stage, so why would I be able to win any of these?_ She looked down at her pokémon before turning to the door. Niko, Jake, and JJ had just returned from the beach, where Niko was training for his next gym battle. The following morning, they would be on the road again. JJ estimated that it would take about a week to get to Mauville City, but Niko wanted to do some beach training all the same.

"Hey Brittany, you alright?" Jake asked as he sat down on the bed opposite her. The brunette smiled and nodded, feigning optimism.

"Yeah Jake, thanks for asking. How was the training?" She asked, turning to Niko.

"Nothing special. Aron's mud slap is stronger than I thought. Hopefully it will be useful later on," Niko said as he lay down on his own bed. He looked at Brittany, focusing on her eyes for a moment, and realizing that she wasn't being too truthful. Trying to avoid conflict, he ignored it and continued talking with JJ for a bit before they all went to grab dinner.


	14. The six puzzles

**Episode 14: The six puzzles**

"Will that be all for you?" The cashier said as she handed Brittany and JJ their supplies.

"Yup. Thank you!" The brunette said cheerfully as she took the bags and placed them in her backpack while JJ paid for it all. The group was heading off to Mauville City next, where Niko would compete for his third Hoenn gym badge.

"Ready to go?" Niko asked as he and Jake met up with their friends at the pokémart's exit. Brittany nodded, equally as joyful as she was with the cashier as they headed north towards the exit of Slateport City.

"So, Niko, how do you feel about your training right now?" JJ asked. Niko had spent a fair amount of time in Slateport City training his pokémon, specifically aron, his newest edition.

"I feel fine, I guess. Not much to write home about yet," He said as he looked up to the sky. Sometimes, he thought, it felt odd for him to feel this confident. His journey in the Hoenn region wasn't fraught with anxiety or stress like it had been before, and while that was a good thing, Niko worried that it might not last long. That maybe he would face a challenge that he couldn't overcome. _I need to stop overthinking things…_

"Oh, Brittany," JJ said after several minutes of silence. "There's a pokémon contest in Verdanturf Town. It's just west of Mauville, so after Niko's gym battle we could head there!"

"Oh…" Brittany said nervously. "I don't know yet. Maybe it's not my thing…"

"You just had a bad first contest! You should give it another shot!" JJ urged her.

"Well, maybe I don't want another shot!" Brittany snapped back, silencing her curly blonde friend and any hope of discussing pokémon contests for the foreseeable future.

The group didn't make much conversation for the next hour or so as they walked down the forested road of Route 110. Eventually they reached the end of the forest and seemed to reach a small village. At least, it looked like a village, since there were a collection of small buildings and houses.

"JJ, what is this place?" Niko asked as he scanned the area around him.

"The pokénav isn't saying much. Oh! Here it is…Hillen Village. Not much information on it, besides the name and location."

"Well, might as well check it out, right?" Niko said as they looked around. They noticed a house with a purple roof—which was different from the other, brown-colored roofs—and a yellow door. As Niko was about to approach it, a familiar face exited it.

"Niko?"

"Melinda?"

"Wh-what are you doing here?" The black-haired trainer asked.

"We're on our way to Mauville City, and we just stumbled upon this place. Why? Why are you here?"

"Oh," Melinda said, looking around a little nervously. "Just…seeing a friend, I guess."

"You guess?" Niko, beaming at his rather strange rival. Melinda nodded, quickly turning an anxious look into a fiercer one.

"Wanna battle?" She asked. "One on one?"

"Of course!" Niko said as he followed the young woman to an open space that would act as a field.

"You first," Melinda said, winking and holding a pokéball in her hand.

"Err, alright then. Aron, you're up!"

"Ohoh, an aron? That's cute. Oddish, let's go!" Melinda commanded.

"What's that pokémon?" Jake asked, pulling out his pokédex.

" _Oddish, the weed pokémon. Grass and poison type. This pokémon grows by absorbing moonlight. During the daytime, it buries itself in the ground, leaving only its leaves exposes to avoid detection by its enemies_."

"Oddish, use sleep powder!"

"Aron, don't let those spores get near you! Use mud slap!"

The iron armor pokémon, in its first battle, kicked some dirt from the ground into the air, colliding with the light blue spores emitting from Oddish. Melinda scowled slightly as she commanded her pokémon to use stun spore instead. This time the spores landed, paralyzing aron momentarily.

"Oddish, use bullet seed!" Melinda commanded. Oddish opened its mouth and fired several small, dark green balls at aron's face while the steel type was unable to retaliate. The weed pokémon continued to pelt aron with the seeds, slowly lowering its health. "Now, run up and use absorb!"

As soon as Melinda issued her command, aron was free of the paralysis. It attempted to dodge the much faster oddish, but the iron armor pokémon was much slower, and could not avoid the absorb as oddish was draining its health with the leaves atop its head.

"Aron! Use harden!" Niko commanded. "Now, use headbutt!"

Aron turned to its right, where its opponent was, and slammed its head into oddish, sending the pokémon rolling away.

"Oddish, sleep powder!" Melinda commanded.

"Mud slap again, and follow up with headbutt!" Niko shouted, throwing his hand out as a gesture. The iron armor pokémon rushed forward, throwing dirt into the air to block the sleep powder before landing another headbutt into oddish. However, the weed pokémon was finally able to put its enemy to sleep. Aron crashed into the ground, out cold.

"Oddish, finish it off with bullet seed!" Melinda commanded. Oddish pelted the steel type with more spherical green seeds, eventually finishing off the iron armor pokémon. "Hm. Well Niko, that was fun!"

"Heh, yeah. I enjoyed it too. That oddish is strong."

"Yeah, it's a pretty solid pokémon. I caught it down the road. This is actually its first battle against a trainer. What'd you think of bullet seed?"

"Didn't see it coming. Next heard of that move before. How'd you teach it?"

"Oh, I have my ways. But having seeds helps…a lot. You might not think it does, but it actually does," She returned oddish and was about to shake Niko's hand went the door to the purple house burst open.

"Melinda! Why'd you leave—oh?" A short man with spiky jet-black hair was standing in the doorway, looking at Melinda and Niko mid-handshake. "Who's this?"

"Oh, Nero, this is Niko. He's a friend of mine that I met near Oldale Town. Niko, this is Nero. My, err…"

"I'm her friend. We've known each other since we were children," Nero responded. "Anyways, Melinda, come on inside. I wanna show you something."

The group and Melinda followed Nero into the purple roofed house, and didn't quite know what to make of his house. In front of them was a maze covered in trees and vines. Nero threw a hand out in front of him as a way of showing off what was clearly his own creation.

"Ta-da! What do you think?"

"You made this…in only a few minutes?" Melinda asked curiously. Nero just shook his head in response.

"Oh, no no dear. I had a curtain up, and after you left I tore it down. What do you think?"

"It's a maze…what are you doing with a maze?" Melinda asked with a bemused expression.

"It's for visitors! They can come and visit me and try to solve my puzzles! Hey, you four, why don't you try it out! See if you can find me at the end!"

Nero then disappeared into a door to the side of the house, locking it behind him (JJ tried to run after him). They all looked at each other with curious looks, unsure of what to do.

"So…do we follow the maze?" Niko asked, looking around at JJ, then Brittany, and finally Melinda, who slowly nodded her head.

"Looks like it. Oh well," she shrugged, "can't be too bad, right? Let's go!"

She then ran into the forested maze, with Niko and his friends following behind her. They rushed through the forest, turning left and right and occasionally reaching a dead end. Eventually they ran into their first obstacle—a tall, thin tree that seemed to be blocking the narrow passageway to the end.

"How do we get through that?" Niko asked. JJ then stepped forward, holding a pokéball.

"Chikorita, use razor leaf to cut the tree!" He commanded, sending out his leaf pokémon, whose sharp leaves sliced the bottom of the thin tree, causing it to crash down in front of them. Behind the tree lay a note. The curly blonde picked it up and read it aloud: "Trick Master is fabulous."

"Who's the Trick Master?" Niko wondered.

"Probably Nero. He has these illusions of grandeur. Anyways, let's get out of here!"

They proceeded to the door beyond the tree, only to find a set of stairs going downwards. Confused, the five trainers proceeded down, only to find another maze. This time it was an ordinary maze on a wooden floor. Curious, the group continued down the maze. It didn't take long for them to see the challenge of this puzzle—there were holes in the ground that prevented them from progressing in the maze.

"How the hell are we supposed to get around this?" Niko said, a little frustrated. He didn't normally mind puzzles, but this is not exactly how he wanted to spend his day.

"Niko, I think we need to do this!" Jake said, grabbing his brother's arm and pulling him over to a large circular button on the ground. He jumped on the button and the hole was instantly covered.

"Wow, nice work, Jake!" Niko said, ruffling his brother's hair as they continued on. There were still more holes in the ground, and occasionally the group had trouble getting through them, but overall, they didn't have much difficulty. Like with the previous puzzle, they found a note laying on the ground in front of the door. Jake picked it up and read it aloud.

"Trick Master is smart," he recited. "Clearly not."

Opening the door, they ran down another set of stairs only to see yet another puzzle. This time, there were several sets of doors, alternating between blue and red. JJ and Brittany ran through the blue set, while Niko, Jake, and Melinda ran through the red set. Turns out, the first group was correct, but now they were faced with two sets of blue doors. Brittany took the left door, and JJ the right, with the former going through the correct path.

"Guys! This way!" Brittany shouted out to her friends, reuniting moments later. Standing before them was an open set of doors and a closed set. JJ was about to run through the open set when Brittany shouted after him. "I don't think that's the right way, JJ!"

The curly blonde ignored her, but realized seconds later that she was correct. However, he did find another large, circular button on the ground. Jumping on it, he heard a sliding door slam open.

"Thanks, JJ!" The brunette shouted as JJ ran back to meet his friends. Like usual, there was a note on the ground. Brittany reached down to grab it and, picking it up, recited it aloud. "Trick Master is coveted."

"Well, that's just not true," Melinda quipped before the group ran down the third set of stairs, only to reveal a fourth maze. This one looked similar to the second, with an ordinary maze lined with wooden flooring. The group continued down the maze, turning left and right, with the occasional dead end, before encountering a large boulder standing in their way.

"I got this one, treecko, come on out!" Niko commanded.

"Mudkip, let's go!" Jake shouted, summoning his starter pokémon as well. The two brothers used pound and tackle, respectively, and quickly broke the rock. They continued to do this throughout the maze, sometimes breaking rocks that led to dead ends. Eventually, they reached a boulder with a note attached to it. Niko took the note and read it aloud.

"Trick Master is cool," He said. Treecko and mudkip broke the final boulder, revealing a doorway that led to a set of stairs, leading them to the fifth maze. However, it wasn't really a maze, but a straightforward pathway lined with statues on each side. Niko decided to make a run for it, but was quickly halted by a tiny electric shock that sent him crashing into the ground.

"Niko, you okay?" Melinda asked as she ran over to her rival. Niko nodded, paying attention to the statue to his left, which was now speaking in a robotic voice.

"I am Mechadoll. To pass this puzzle you must answer our questions correctly. First question: Which pokémon is not native to the Hoenn region: Abra, seedot, or skiploom?"

"Skiploom," Melinda quickly answered.

"Correct. You may proceed."

Melinda, Niko, and the group continued on, answering each of Mechadoll's questions, most of them answered by the young black-haired woman, which thoroughly impressed Niko. At the end of the puzzle lay a note, which Melinda read aloud.

"Trick Master is a genius. Yeah, whatever," She scoffed as they proceeded down the fifth set of stairs.

"So, Melinda, how did you and Nero meet?" Niko asked as they walked to the next puzzle.

"We met when we were kids in school. I went off to study nursing, and he left to go here, I guess," Niko, realizing that he wasn't going to get much out of her, didn't press any further.

The sixth puzzle was not a maze in the traditional sense. There were blue tiles that ran in seemingly random directions around the room. Niko was the first to step on a tile, and quickly found himself sliding across the room in random directions, ultimately landing near a set of clay pots.

Next up was JJ who, after seeing where Niko went, chose to take a different pathway. He made it across without crashing into anything, but was now stuck with a choice between two new paths—one going left, and the other going forward. Looking across the room to the door, JJ chose the forward path. However, it took him in a sharp right direction where he too found himself at a dead end.

Brittany and Jake took the same path that JJ did, only this time choosing the left path. Brittany ended up at a dead end, and Jake almost made it to the door until he also crashed into a dead end, leaving Melinda to solve the puzzle.

"You can do this, Melinda!" Niko shouted, a little dizzy from the tiles. His rival nodded before taking the same path as Jake had up until his dead end, choosing the sharp left path instead of the one that looped back around, as the younger boy had chosen previously. This path took her to the note, with a switch next to it. Pulling the switch, the tiles all shifted in the direction of the note, and Melinda quickly found herself in the path of four trainers, all hurtling towards her. Moving out of the way, she watched as Niko, JJ, Brittany, and Jake all collided into one another, creating a small pile of tangled humans. As the group shifted around to get onto their feet, Melinda read the note in her head, turning red as she did so.

"Uh…you okay?" Niko asked as he leaned over to read the note. "Oh…"

"What's it say?" Brittany asked curiously, but Melinda refused to say it.

"Oh c'mon, it can't be that bad…" JJ said, urging their friend.

Melinda hesitated, a took a deep breath before reciting the message.

"Trick Master I love."

The door behind her swung open, revealing Nero with a bundle of flowers. Melinda quickly turned around to see her childhood friend approaching her.

"W-what is this?" She asked nervously.

Nero then gave her the flowers and got on a knee. Before he could even ask the question, Melinda stopped him.

"No," she responded bluntly.

"Huh?" Nero asked, thoroughly confused.

"I said no. I don't love you. I thought I did, but I don't."

"But-but Melinda…I did all of this for you. Everything."

"And this is great and all, but I don't love you. It's that simple."

Brittany tapped Niko on the shoulder, whispering in his ear. "I think we should leave now…"

Niko nodded, and the four trainers waved goodbye to Melinda as she and Nero talked. As they exited the final maze, they could briefly hear shouting. Walking up the stairs and out of the backdoor of the purple-roofed house, they all stopped, looking at each other in shock.

"I'm not quite sure what we just saw…" Niko said, turning back to the house with a concerned look.

"Are you worried?" Brittany asked, only to receive a headshake in response.

"No, I'm not. It was just awkward."

"Agreed. Anyways, it's getting dark, we should probably see if there's a place to sleep around here," JJ said. The group then searched around for such a place, only to find a cheap motel. Getting into their second-story room (a small one, at that), Niko looked out the window to see Melinda walking out of the Trick House. She looked like she was crying. Not wanting to intervene, Niko closed the blinds to the window and went to sleep.


	15. Trike and electrike!

**Author's note: Hey y'all! What do you all think of the Pokemon Direct announcement today? Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon! I for one am pretty excited, since Gen VII is turning out to be one of my favorites (despite the lack of new pokemon). Anyways, here's a kind of long episode, but I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 **Episode 15: Trike and electrike!**

After the incident in the Trick House, Niko and his friends continued on Route 110 towards Mauville City. During the following few days, Niko would train with his pokémon, but wasn't making much progress. Taillow seemed to perfect wing attack, but aron and treecko weren't doing much at all. Treecko seemed to be getting faster, but as soon as Niko tried to teach it bullet seed, like Melinda's oddish had learned, it began to struggle. Aron, on the other hand, didn't focus on speed exercises, but rather dodging ones. Niko, adopting Fay's evasion exercises, tried to impose this on his iron armor pokémon, but with very limited success, as the heavy steel type could hardly get off the ground.

They worked on this on and off during their travels. Jake was occasionally training with mudkip, trying to teach it rock smash. He found some early successes, but the two stopped their training when mudkip accidentally hit a geodude and attracted a swarm of the rock pokémon. It took all four trainer's pokémon to calm down the swarm, and Niko and Jake had to have a brief talk about being cautious.

JJ wanted to teach his pokémon new moves as well. He planned on entering the Verdanturf pokémon contest, and thus began thinking of new ways to use his pokemon's moves stylistically. He also had an ulterior motive to this: to get Brittany to enter as well. Every time he worked with his pokémon, he did so right in front of her. The brunette, on her part, tried her best to ignore JJ's efforts. Eventually she decided to quit reading or tending to pichu and watch her curly blonde friend work with growlithe or chikorita or umbreon.

One day, Brittany got up and began working with torchic on learning some new moves she read in a magazine. It was a move that she had certainly seen before, but never considered it to be a style move: attract. The move created small pink hearts that flew to the enemy pokémon with the intention of immobilizing it with love. Brittany wanted to combine this with ember to creating flaming hearts. JJ and Niko seemed to like to idea, and watched and critiqued Brittany and torchic's efforts.

"So, what do you guys think?" Brittany asked, holding her arms out in an imitation of fanfare.

"It looks great, Brittany. I think torchic is really getting the hang of it!" Niko complimented.

"Heh, thanks. I think torchic's attract hearts could be a bit bigger, or maybe in varying sizes, so I'll try that out later and see if it works."

JJ simply nodded as he continued making his lunch. Niko and Brittany stopped their training and joined him.

After lunch, the group continued on the route for a while, observing the rushing water of the river to their left. To their right was a cement road. They'd seen plenty of roads before on their journeys, so it wasn't out of the blue. This road in particular, however, was marked differently.

"Why aren't there any cars driving down this road?" Niko asked curiously, turning back to check for vehicles in motion.

"Niko, this is a bike road. They've got them on every street, but this one looks like it is specifically for bikers," Brittany explained, pointing to the dotted markings that seemed to denote different lanes. "It's also narrower than an ordinary road."

"Oh, alright," Niko responded, staring back at the road.

"Yeah, according to the pokénav this cycling road is famous in Hoenn for its competitions. They hold them annu—oh my god!" JJ shouted as a bike collided with Niko, knocking the two forward. After rolling for a few seconds, Niko, the biker, and the bicycle landed in a pile.

"Niko! Are you alright?" Brittany asked, rushing over to help her friend up. Niko managed to get up slowly, and without much difficulty. He turned to look down at the biker that he collided with and attempted to help him up.

"Hey man, sorry about that. Guess I wasn't paying much attention," He said, accepting Niko's help.

"No worries, I'm not hurt or anything," Niko replied, watching as the biker picked up his bike and began to ride off. "Huh…"

"What's up, Niko?" JJ asked, looking off in the distance like his friend.

"Oh, nothing. Let's keep going!"

It was only minutes later that they came across a medium-sized building with several rows of bikes running alongside it. As they approached the building, a small group of people in spandex outfits and sunglasses were walking out of the front door and over to the bikes.

"Rydel's Bike Shop. Oh, cool!" JJ commented as they entered the building. As soon as they walked inside they heard a friendly voice greet them.

"Welcome to Rydel's Bike Shop! The name's Rydel, how can I be of assistance?" Said a tall, dark-haired man with sunglasses sitting atop his head.

"Oh, hey, we're just in the neighborhood and thought we'd uh check this place out," JJ replied as he began to aimlessly walk around the shop.

"I see. Travelers, eh? Where d'ya come from, if I might ask?"

"Pallet Town and Vermilion City in Kanto," Niko replied, eying the different kinds of bike parts on display around the store.

"Wow! That's pretty far! What brings you to Hoenn then?"

"I'm battling the gyms here, and Brittany is thinking of doing pokémon contests. Oh, I'm Niko, by the way. This is my brother, Jake, and that's JJ over there."

"Gyms, eh? Well, I know what could get you guys to your gyms and contests faster, my new Mach Bike 2.0! State of the art, this one is. Whaddya say?"

Niko gave Rydel a skeptical look before shaking his head. "No thanks. I'm actually not that into bikes."

Rydel gasped silently as he beamed at Niko. "Really now, why is that?"

Niko turned away nervously. "Err…never really grew up with them."

"You know how to ride though, right?"

"O-of course I-I do!" Niko stammered.

"Hmm. Alright then. Well, if ya aren't into buying a bike, would you four be interested in participating in my annual bike ride? Doesn't cost much, and you get to rent one of my bikes for free! Thing is, it's a partner race with an electric type pokémon. You're challenging gyms, so surely you've got one of them, right?"

Niko shook his head. "No, no I do not."

"Hmm…maybe I could loan you one of my own. How about you all? Interested?"

Jake and JJ both shook their heads, citing that they too didn't have an electric type. Brittany, on the other hand, sounded interested, as did the pichu sitting in her arms.

Niko sighed. "I'm really not interested in doing this…"

Rydel nonetheless kept pressing him. "I'm sure you'll enjoy it kid!"

"Yeah, Niko! Let's do it together!" Brittany said, cupping his shoulder with her hand. Niko turned and smiled nervously at Brittany. He sighed again, albeit louder, and agreed.

"Great! Lemme go get ya the loaner pokémon," Rydel said, running into his backroom and returning moments later with a pokéball. "Now, let's get you two registered…names are Niko and Brittany…Kanto region…electrike and pichu…"

"Excuse me," Niko interrupted. "Electrike?"

"Yeah? Electrike. Your loaner pokémon."

"Oh…sorry," Niko replied shyly, backing away a little after picking up the loaner pokéball. While Rydel was finishing the registration, Niko summoning the electrike and pulled out his pokédex:

" _Electrike, the lightning pokémon. Electrike runs faster than the human eye can follow. The friction from running is converted in electricity, which is then stored in this pokemon's fur_."

Electrike was a tiny wolf-like pokémon. Green colored with yellow lightning bolt strikes running along each side of its face, it overall looked like a fearsome pokémon, or at least one that had the potential to be one.

"Hi, electrike. I'm, err, your partner for this race. My name is Niko."

As he reached down to pet the electrike, it shied away, unsure of how to deal with the brown-haired trainer. Niko retracted his hand, not wanting to upset it. Rydel finished registering Niko and Brittany, giving them keys to their loaner bikes and giving them information on the race itself. It was a one-mile race down the cycling road. Medals are awarded for the first three finishers, and a ribbon for everyone after that. He also recommended the use of spandex outfits, but neither Brittany nor Niko took this option.

The two trainers got their bikes and began walking over to the cycling road, with electrike following Niko cautiously.

"Electrike doesn't seem very happy about this, Niko," Brittany commented. Pichu was sitting in a basket on her bike, looking around in awe at the people and pokémon at the starting line. There were various kinds of electric type pokémon competing as well: magnemite and magneton, pikachu and raichu, voltorb, etc.

"Guess not. Well, I'm not too pleased with doing this, either."

"Why not?" Brittany asked quizzically.

"Well, err…" Niko hesitated for a moment, "I don't actually know how to ride a bike."

"What!?" Brittany exclaimed. "Then why did you enter?"

"You and Rydel kept pressuring me to. I guess I just gave in to peer pressure," Niko admitted. "I guess it can't be that hard though. When the race starts, don't hold up for me. Just do your best, alright? I'll figure this out."

Brittany nodded. "Alright then…good luck!" She said as the gun went off, signaling the beginning of the race. She mounted her bike and rode off with pichu. Meanwhile, Niko mounted his bike, looked down at a now impatient electrike, and began his first attempt at riding a bike.

A second later, he fell on his side, landing on electrike.

"Oh, sorry buddy," Niko said as he got back up, clearly losing electrike's trust. He mounted the bike once more and tried pedaling, this time making it several feet before losing his balance once more. This time, electrike evaded its partner's collapse. Sighing, Niko got back onto his bike for his third attempt. _Alright Niko, focus on balance. That's how you ride, right? Balance?_

With this in mind, Niko mounted the bike a third time, and slowly began pedaling, focusing on maintaining balance between left and right. Electrike began running next to Niko, the two seemingly in concert with one another.

As Niko rode down the cycling road, he began to feel a little better. _This isn't too hard! I…I kinda like this!_ "How're you doing, electrike?" Niko asked, not turning to look at the lightning pokémon out of fear of losing his balance. He heard a "yip" sound, presumably from his partner who seemed to be doing just fine.

They quickly found out that this wasn't any ordinary race. Rather, it seemed to be some sort of obstacle course that required both human and pokémon to traverse. Niko abruptly stopped, nearly falling off his bike, and examined the obstacle. It looked like some sort of electric field preventing him from proceeding forward. Remembering electrike's pokédex entry, he turned to the lightning pokémon.

"Hey, electrike, can you run into that field and absorb the electricity? Apparently, you can store electricity in your fur. The pokédex says it's from running, but I'd assume that it's—oh, alright," Niko stopped talking as electrike was already running into the field, absorbing the blue sparks of electricity into its body. Its fur straightened as a result. Niko, seeming pleased, got back on his bike and continued on.

The second—and final—obstacle in their way was a series of planks running from left to right relative to the road with several feet of space in between them and the flowing river below them. Niko got off of his bike to examine the challenge, which included leaning over the edge to see how far down the river was. Turns out it wasn't too far.

"Alright, err…do I abandon the bike here?" Niko asked, turning to his partner pokémon. Electrike, its fur still straight, shook its head. Its done several of these races before, and so Niko trusted its judgement. "Fine…then how do I get across?"

Electrike, unable to speak human language, explained by getting on its hind legs and jumping up and down.

"Wait…so you mean I have to _hop_ across? Like a bunny?"

Electrike nodded.

"Okay…err…that's really difficult with a bike, though. I guess I can try. Electrike, can you get in the basket of the bike? I think we have to do this one together…"

The lightning pokémon nodded as it allowed Niko to pick it up—albeit cautiously—and place it in the basket, which was made of metal and didn't react nicely to electrike's super-charged fur. Niko grabbed the handlebars and began practicing the bunny hop technique.

"So, I just have to lift the bike up, like this…" He said as he successfully managed to get the bike to balance on the back wheel. "And then jump up and down…"

He was able to get in the air. However, landing was a different story. They crashed into the ground. Niko wanted to give up, but remembering the confidence Brittany put in him and the urging of Rydel, he got back on and tried again. And again. And yet again, each time nearly landing perfectly. All the while, electrike was watching Niko from the ground, as it had fallen out of the basket on the first attempt. Personally, it figured that Niko could be kind of a ditz, at least from this first impression, but that he wasn't the kind of person to just give up. Electrike considered this as the race was still going on.

Finally, after several more tries, Niko landed the bunny hop. He tried it a couple more times to make sure the first one wasn't a fluke before getting electrike back into the basket and onto the obstacle. They had to bunny hop over five planks to get to the other side.

Niko successfully got over the first three, but on the four one, he undershot his jump and the back wheel fell through the space between the planks. The front wheel hit the fourth plank, but there wasn't enough energy to get the entire bike up. Niko, electrike, and the bike all fell into the river below.

Being a decent swimmer as a child, despite not learning until he was around 10, Niko was able to make it to safety on the other end of the river. Although, he quickly realized he was the only one. Electrike was still missing.

"Electrike?" Niko shouted out. Moments later he found the green and yellow wolf pokémon's head pop out of the water, eyes closed. "Electrike!" Niko jumped into the water, feet first (didn't know how to dive) and swam towards the lightning pokémon. Grabbing onto the electric type, he completely forgot about the charged fur, and felt a surge of electricity flow through him. Trying to ignore the pain, Niko trudged back through the river to the shore, electrike slung over his shoulder.

He carefully put down the pokémon and tried to perform some unpracticed form of CPR on it, and somehow succeeded. Electrike woke up and looked up at Niko.

"You okay?" Niko asked, panting and drenched in river water. Electrike, stunned by this turn of events, nodded and got back on its feet. The two walked back up to the road and completed the race on foot.

Turns out, they came in last. Most of the competitors had already left, leaving Brittany, JJ, Jake, and Rydel at the finish line.

"Niko! What happened to you?" Jake asked, looking at his soaking wet brother.

"You know that bunny hop obstacle? Didn't exactly make it…turns out I suck at riding a bike," Electrike shook its head, unbeknownst to Niko. However, Brittany did notice it. The group walked back into Rydel's shop where Niko dried off and was awarded a participation ribbon. "Hey, how'd you do, Brittany?"

"I came in seventh place. Not bad for a starter. Pichu had some trouble with that electric field, though. Completely forgot it has difficulty storing electricity."

"Electrike had no problem with it, turns out its made to store electricity in its fur," Niko said, looking down at the exhausted electrike, who was beginning to fall asleep on the floor.

The group waited for Niko to dry off enough before they decided to leave. Thanking Rydel for the opportunity to compete, they were on their way out the door when they heard a tiny bark coming from inside.

"Huh?" Niko said, turning around. Behind him was electrike, a pokéball sitting in front of it, and Rydel standing behind it, looking joyful.

"You must have made quite the impression on this electrike, Niko. I think it wants to join you."

"Why though? It's a racing pokémon, not a battling one."

"You can be both, you know that, right?" Rydel asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I guess so. I just don't see how I made any sort of impact on it."

"From what I gathered you both fell into that river. There's no other way, really, other than electrike jumping ahead of you. It looked a little damp when you both came back. Anyways, I know for a fact that this electrike cannot swim. For one thing, it's an electric type, not a water type. Secondly, it's dangerous for it to swim, as you might have noticed. Logically, I believe that you saved it, and it may feel like it owes you one. So here, you can take electrike on your journey if you want to."

Niko looked down at electrike. "You sure you want to?" The lightning pokémon nodded calmly. "Alright then," Niko picked up the pokéball and tapped it on electrike's nose. The electric type went into the pokéball, which vibrated a few times before clicking, indicating that Niko caught it.

"Best of luck on your journey, Niko," Rydel said before walking back into his shop.

Niko nodded before turning around and continuing his journey with his friends, his brother, and his team of pokémon, all working towards their next gym badge in Mauville City.


	16. The bright and shiny city!

**Episode 16: The bright and shiny city!**

The group eventually made it to Mauville City, only a day after Niko and Brittany competed in the Cycling Road's competition. Since, Niko has been trying to get a feel for how electrike fits in his team. The lightning pokémon is, without a doubt, a fast pokémon, but it certainly needed to get stronger.

Meanwhile, Brittany and JJ were working on their style performances for the upcoming pokémon contest in Verdanturf Town. Even though not confirming her entry into the contest, it was all but assumed that Brittany would participate again, this time using torchic. Over the past couple of days, she and the chick pokémon had been working hard on their attract/ember combination. JJ, on the other hand, was working with his shroomish on a combination involving absorb and stun spore, but he found it difficult to perfect.

Mauville City is located in the heart of the Hoenn region. By the time Niko and his friends visited, it had been transformed into a single building. Indeed, the entire city is indoors, including its pokémon center, gym, pokémart, a series of other shops, and Mauville Hills, the apartments that house most of the town's residents.

"Wow!" Niko exclaimed as they walked through the front entrance. "This place is incredible!"

"So, it's all one building essentially?" JJ asked as they walked down one of the streets.

"Apparently so," Jake commented as they exited into the middle of the city, which was in the open, allowing for the sun to shine down on the city and its inhabitants.

"So, where first?" Brittany asked, looking around the center of the city.

"I guess the pokémon center works. We can figure out what to do from there," Niko suggested.

In the pokémon center, the group healed up their companions while having lunch and discussing their plans. As it turned out, the pokémon center in Mauville City didn't have available rooms for trainers to stay in, so they would either have to be out of the city in a day or find somewhere else to sleep. JJ suggested renting an apartment, kind of like a bed-in-breakfast style, but Niko turned it down, noting that it would be expensive. The group ultimately settled on sleeping just outside of the city for the night, unless Niko beat the Mauville gym leader that day, in which case they would head west to Verdanturf.

"So, you want to challenge Wattson today?" JJ asked, raising an eyebrow. "Are you ready?"

"Wattson? That's his name? What does he specialize in?" Niko asked.

"Apparently electric types. He's quite the guy. Founded Mauville City and is the primary architect behind the renovation of the city that we see now."

"Well, maybe I should do some training before challenging him. If electric types are the case, then taillow is out. Hmm…" Niko thought for a bit. "Yeah, maybe we could go to Verdanturf Town first. It'd give me some time to train. I'd rather not lose this match."

"Fair enough. Verdanturf Town is only a day's walk away, anyways. Wouldn't be too far for us," JJ said, putting away his pokénav to continue eating.

As the group finished their food and prepared to travel to Verdanturf Town, Niko spotted a familiar green-haired boy off in the distance, sitting on a bench with his ralts and eating lunch.

"Wally!" Niko cried out, waving his hand as he walked across the center of Mauville City to greet his friend and rival.

"Niko?" Wally asked as he began to smile at the sight of his friend. The two shook hands as Wally got off the bench to greet Niko. "H-how are you?"

"Doing alright, what're you doing in Mauville City?"

"Well, I was here to challenge Wattson, but it looks like he's busy right now. What about you?"

"I was going to battle him, but I decided to train some more. How many badges do you have right now?"

"Two, rom Rustboro and Lavaridge Town," Wally answered, showing Niko his badge case. "You?

"Two as well: Rustboro and Dewford. How have you been, being a trainer an all?"

"Niko, it's really great! Thanks for helping me out, I really appreciate the help. But I've heard that Wattson will be free later on in the day, so I'll go and challenge him then."

"Great to hear! I hope you win!" Niko smiled with a hint of determination. "Say, do you want to battle, as a warm-up to your match with Wattson?"

"Yeah, let's do it! Two-on-two?"

"Sure, and let's go outside of the city. Don't want to disrupt anyone…" Niko said as the group ran off to the western part of the city, where they found ample space for their first match together.

"Aron, let's go!" Niko commanded.

"Ralts, you're up!" Wally said, looking down at his first pokémon. The psychic type jumped eagerly into battle, as did the iron armor pokémon.

"Aron, harden!" Niko commanded in an attempt to set up his defenses regardless of what ralts did.

"Ralts, use confusion!" Wally shouted. The psychic type's eyes began to glow under its green hair as it picked up the steel type—albeit with some difficulty—and tossed it aside. Niko and aron retaliated with a headbutt attack, sending its opponent flying.

"Now follow up with mud slap!" Niko shouted. Aron turned around and, using its hind legs, kicked dirt at ralts, successfully hitting it in the eyes.

"Ralts, double team!" Wally commanded. The psychic type copied itself several times, surrounding aron. "Now, use confusion!"

With the added power of multiple ralts, the confusion was able to pick aron up and throw it across the field towards Niko's friends. Fortunately for them, the iron armor pokémon landed right in front of them as the ralts copies disappeared.

"Aron, use headbutt!" Niko commanded. The iron armor pokémon rushed forward at its opponent.

"Ralts, use teleport!" The psychic type disappeared just as aron got close enough to make contact with it. "Now, use confusion again!"

Aron was picked up and slammed back into the ground, ralts then teleported again and tackled its opponent, defeating it. JJ, who was acting as judge for the match, called the round for ralts as Niko returned aron.

"Taillow, let's go!" Niko commanded. "Alright Wally, let's see how you deal with a faster pokémon. Taillow, use quick attack!"

"Ralts, teleport!" Wally shouted. The psychic type tried to disappear, but was too slow—taillow attacked it just as it was beginning to disappear. Ralts caught itself on taillow's wing at the swallow pokémon ran them both into a tree. Taillow, less damaged by the attack compared with its opponent, flew back towards Niko, only to see ralts standing in its way.

"Taillow, wing attack!" Niko commanded. The tiny swallow pokémon rushed down at ralts, who teleported once again. "Alright then, Wally, I getcha. Taillow, get low to the ground."

The tiny swallow obeyed as it got to ground level, resting its small talons on the grass below it. Ralts stared down its opponent for a moment, waiting for their respective trainers to suggest a command.

"Taillow, use quick attack!" Niko commanded.

"Ralts, double team!" Learning from his previous mistake, Wally chose not to use teleport and go on the offensive. "Now, confusion!"

"Taillow, fly in a circle!" Niko plainly said. The tiny swallow shot back into the air, spinning around in a circle to confused the multiple ralts. However, one of them eventually was able to use confusion, slamming taillow into the ground. But the flying type quickly got back up, despite taking a fair amount of damage from the speed of its collision with the grassy field. It got back up as Niko ushered another command. "Use wing attack!"

"Ralts, teleport!" Wally commanded. The psychic type responded, disappearing and reappearing behind taillow. But Niko and his swallow figured this, and the latter commanded the former to circle around and attack. Ralts and Wally, not expecting this, were unable to defend.

"Ralts is unable to battle, taillow wins!" JJ stated. Wally returned his trusty pokémon before pulling out another pokéball.

"Swablu, let's go!" Wally shouted, summoning a tiny blue bird pokémon with fluffy cloud-like wings.

"What's that pokémon?" Jake asked Brittany, who shook her head in response. Nevertheless, he pulled out his pokédex:

" _Swablu, the cotton bird pokémon. Normal and flying type. A pokémon that has wings like cottony clouds. After enduring winter, in which little food is available, swablu flocks move closer to towns in the spring_."

"Swablu, use fury attack!" Wally commanded. The cotton bird pokémon rushed at its opponent, who dodged with quick attack and slammed into swablu's wing, knocking both pokémon into the ground. "Use sing!"

The cotton bird opened its mouth to sing, and just as its melody was made public to the world around it, taillow rushed forward and peck its opponent on the head, halting the singing. A now drowsy swallow pokémon then backed up a little before Niko issued another command.

"Taillow, wing attack!"

"Swablu, dodge and use sing!"

"Turn to your left! Yeah, and attack swablu now!" Niko shouted out. Taillow took a sharp left and slammed into swablu, its wings glowing white. Once again, the two birds crashed into the ground, rolling around through the grass. Both then got up at the same time and flew at each other, low to the ground, before using peck on one another. Wally tried to get another sing attack in, but taillow's speed was outmatching it, and the cotton bird pokémon quickly fell to another quick attack.

"Swablu is unable to battle, taillow wins! The victory goes to Niko!" JJ declared.

"Hey, good job, Wally!" Niko said, praising his rival. "That ralts of yours is plenty strong. Guess I forgot how to fight psychic types…heh."

Wally shook Niko's hand. "Yeah! And that taillow is pretty great, too! Wish I could have gotten a sing attack in. I may have beaten you if I landed it!"

"That's true, you almost had me there. The thing is, taillow specializes in speed. We do a bunch of speed training to make sure it can dodge almost any move. You might want to think about that with your swablu."

"Thanks for the advice, I'll try it out sometime. Anyways, I should go and heal up my pokémon before my gym battle with Wattson. Are you guys staying in town?"

"We're actually heading off to Verdanturf Town," Niko replied. "JJ and Brittany are participating in the pokémon contest there!"

"Oh, really?" Wally asked, furrowing his brow. "That's interesting. My have family there! Maybe I'll come and join you guys if I can!"

"Wally, that'd be great. We'd love to hang out with you some more," JJ said, slapping the green-haired boy's shoulder. Wally flinched from the light slap; JJ didn't seem to notice.

"It's in a couple of days, right?" The group nodded. "Yeah, I'll see if I can make it! Thanks again! Bye!"

With that, the green haired boy ran off towards Mauville City. As he disappeared, Niko and his friends continued down the road, talking about Niko's battle with Wally and the upcoming pokémon contest.

"Wally's a good kid, Niko," Brittany said, looking ahead across the open field they were walking down.

"He really is. Kind, a little shy, and well-meaning. I can tell he's a good trainer to his pokémon. There really seems to be a connection, you know?"

Brittany nodded. "Kind of like how you used to be, right?"

"Well, not exactly. He's way more caring."

Niko began to reflect on his journey a couple years back, in the Kanto region with Fay and JJ, with Brittany joining later. It was hard to believe how far he had come in just a couple of years. He felt more mature, knowledgeable, and confident in himself. As usual, it felt almost foreign to him. This reflection only lasted a couple moments before JJ pointed ahead of them to a barn with fenced-off fields full of pokémon.

"What's that place?" He asked, feeling like he already knew the answer.

"Looks like some sort of ranch. Maybe a pokémon daycare?" Niko asked, shrugging his shoulders. Brittany seemed to nod in agreement.

"We should definitely check it out, then!" JJ exclaimed. As an aspiring pokémon breeder, he was eager to continue learning the tricks of the trade, as he had done in Kanto and Johto before. He began walking faster down the hill they were standing on, with his friends following closely behind.


	17. The wind's at the back of Seedot!

**Episode 17: The wind's at the back of Seedot!**

It was clear that JJ was more excited to see the daycare then his friends were. Reaching the front door, he eagerly knocked, and was answered by a middle-aged man with a thick black and gray mustache. A woman was waving joyfully behind him from a desk.

"Why hello there mister. How may we help you?" He asked in a deep, but fatherly, tone.

"Hi!" JJ exclaimed. "My name is JJ. I'm from the Kanto region, and I want to be a pokémon breeder one day!"

"Oh," the man said thoughtfully, "well, come on in then. I'm sure my wife and I can answer any questions you may have. And your friends can come in, too!"

The group walked into the ranch house that was the pokémon daycare. Looking around, it was easy to demarcate the business side from the breeding side. JJ and the daycare owners were off at the business side, where the wife was sitting at a desk with a computer at her side and piles of papers at her other. There was also a small play area for pokémon, with a colorful rug and some small toys sectioned off by a small white fence.

"Niko, what do they do here?" Jake asked, looking up at his brother.

"This is a pokémon daycare, Jake. They do a bunch of stuff, like raise pokémon for trainers who are travelling, or hatch eggs and raise pokémon that way."

"Is this what JJ wants to do?"

"Yeah, kind of. Pokémon breeding involves a lot of things. It's not just hatching a pokémon from an egg, you know."

"Sounds like a lot of work," Jake commented.

"Oh, definitely is. You know how he's always grooming his pokémon? That's breeding. It's just taking the best possible care of your pokémon. Or, at least, that's what JJ has been taught to do."

Jake nodded, indicating he understood the explanation, before walking around the reception area. The couple turned their attention from JJ and towards the younger boy.

"Hey kid, do you want to go out and see some of the pokémon we're taking care of?" The lady asked. "By the way," she said, turning to the group at large. "We forgot to introduce ourselves. My name is Jane, and this is James. We run the regional daycare here in Hoenn. Where are all of you from?"

"Well, my name is Niko, and this is my brother Jake. That's Brittany, and of course you've met JJ. We're all from Kanto as well."

"Pleased to meet you," Brittany said, reaching her hand out to shake Jane's.

"And what brings you to Hoenn, if I might ask?" James asked.

"I'm here to challenge gyms, but otherwise here for travelling purposes."

"Oh, gyms eh? Have you challenged the Mauville gym yet?" Jane asked.

"Not yet, I still need to do some more training. But I'll be ready soon, I think."

"Well, anyways, you can all come outside and take a look at our ranch. We've got pokémon from all over the region here that we're taking care of."

James led the group out to the backyard, which stretched on for several acres. There were pokémon of all shapes and sizes running around within the massive fenced area. Jake summoned mudkip and ran out to play with some poochyenas while Niko followed him. Brittany, pichu, and torchic walked around the area for a bit, while JJ was talking with James about the business of having a daycare.

"So, is it hard?" JJ asked, "Raising all of these pokémon, I mean."

"It can be, especially if you get some fussy pokémon. But it's gratifying work. You get to not only help other trainers out, but you get to meet so many different kinds of pokémon. I'm not talking about just different species, but also different personalities, likes and dislikes. And, for the most part, they like you back. It's been difficult parting with some pokémon after caring for them for so long. Oh, and there's also the whole business of hatching and raising pokémon from eggs…" James motioned JJ over to an egg. "You've had experience with pokémon eggs before, right?"

"Yeah, my growlithe hatched from an egg. And azurill here might as well have, too. I found it when it was just a baby."

James pointed to a small egg sitting comfortably in a nest. The two crouched down to get a better look as the egg began to glow and crack, eventually forming itself into the shape of a small piglet with a pearl on its head and a curled tail that resembled a spring.

"What's this pokémon?" JJ asked, pulling out his pokédex:

" _Spoink, the bounce pokémon. Spoink keeps a pearl on top of its head. The pearl functions to amplify this pokemon's psychokinetic powers. It is therefore on a constant search for a bigger pearl._ "

"Ah yes, I remember the trainer that brought in this pokemon's father. I'll need to give her a call later to tell her that she has a baby spoink if she wants it," James stood up. "Spoink are interesting pokémon. Those pearls are apparently found from clamperl, pokémon that are found deep in the ocean. And I've also learned that the shock from their spring keeps their heart beating. Therefore, if it stops bouncing, its heart will also stop."

"Fascinating…" JJ observed, looking at the happy little spoink bouncing up and down, clearly trying to get its bearings. "How many eggs do you usually get?"

"It really depends, but anywhere between a dozen and two dozen. It isn't hard to keep track of, though, if that's what you were wondering about."

They continued talking for some time before hearing a scream off in the distance. Turning around immediately, JJ and James noticed Brittany, torchic, and pichu running back towards them, clearly terrified by something.

"What's wrong, Brittany?" JJ asked his brunette friend.

"A big white and brown pokémon came out of the trees and took one of your pokémon. We tried to stop it but it whacked away torchic and pichu…"

James looked ahead in the direction that Brittany had come from. "Shiftry…" He muttered before running off.

"Wait! James!" JJ yelled, running after him. Brittany, holding pichu and looking down at torchic, sighed before turning back and following them. They intercepted with Niko and Jake, who also heard the scream.

"Is everything okay, Brittany?" Niko asked as they continued running. "I thought I heard you scream."

"You heard correctly. This big white and brown pokémon came out of nowhere and stole one of James' pokémon. I tried to stop it but it blew us away with its hands."

"What the hell…" Niko muttered. They finally reached the edge of the ranch, where James and JJ were looking around, as if in search of this mysterious pokémon. "James…do you know what happened?"

"I think I do…" James responded before turning to Niko. "It might have been a shiftry."

"What's that?" Niko asked.

"It's a dark type pokémon. Recently I've had trouble with it, since it will come from this forest here and steal my things, like food or even pokémon. Its powerful, too, as it can control wind movements with the fans of its hands. That's probably what it used on you, Brittany."

"Is there anything we can do to stop it?" Brittany asked.

"Well, we have to find it first. Come on, let's go," James said before jumping the fence. "Let's split up. JJ and I will go this way, Brittany and Jake, you go that way. Niko, do you mind going alone?"

"Not at all. And Brittany, please take care of Jake," He asked, gripping his brunette friend's shoulder. She nodded plainly, and Niko then summoned taillow and ran off to the left. JJ and James went to the right, which left Brittany and Jake to go forward.

The forest behind the ranch wasn't too dense, and so the two trainers moved through it with relative ease. However, unbeknownst to them, they were being watched by several sets of eyes in the forest.

Out of nowhere, Brittany felt a strong gust of wind blow over her, knocking her onto the dirt ground as a brown and white pokémon descended from the treetops. Jake pulled out a pokéball and summoned mudkip, commanding it to use water gun on the pokémon. It dodged, and two more pokémon jumped out of the trees. They were much smaller, and shaped like acorns, but collided with mudkip, knocking it over. Two more pokémon, medium-sized relative to the two other species, ran from the trunk of the tree and picked mudkip up and ran off in the distance.

"Mudkip!" Jake shouted out, scurrying off into the bushes after his only pokémon. Brittany, who was out of breath from the fall, slowly got up and made sure pichu was alright before trying to run after her friend.

Jake dodged trees and bushes before he finally found mudkip in a forest clearing. The medium-sized pokémon were tying it up as the small ones were standing guard. Before making his appearance known, he looked up the pokémon in his pokédex. First, the small one:

" _Seedot, the acorn pokémon. Grass type. It hangs off branches and absorbs nutrients. When it finishes eating, its body becomes so heavy that it drops to the ground with a thump._ "

" _Nuzleaf, the wily pokémon. Grass and dark type. A forest-dwelling pokémon that is skilled at climbing trees. Its long and pointed nose is its weak point. It loses power if the nose is gripped._ "

" _Shiftry, the wickid pokémon. Grass and dark type. It is said to arrive on chilly, wintry winds. Feared from long ago as the guardian of forests, this pokémon lives in a deep forest where people do not venture_."

As he was reading these pokédex entries, Jake also noticed one of the seedot was acting odd. Meaning, it seemed uneasy with the whole ordeal. Jake figured this because the acorn pokémon was shifting around while the other was standing completely still. Regardless, the young boy jumped out from his position behind some bushes and made a run for mudkip.

The shiftry quickly noticed him and lazily flapped its fan to the side, creating a wave of wind that hit Jake in the side, knocking him over. Mudkip cried out as the nuzleaf tied its legs together. As they finished and turned their attention to Jake, running towards him just as a flurry of small embers hit one of them in the face, hitting it backwards.

"Brittany!" Jake shouted as he tried getting up.

"Torchic, ember again! Pichu, use thundershock!" Brittany commanded as her two pokémon used their elemental attacks on the nuzleaf. However, one of the seedot leapt into the air to intercept the ember. The other, too scared to fight, backed away.

Seeing this, shiftry slapped the seedot in the back, trying to coerce it to fight. The seedot still refused. Shiftry continued to slap it with its fans. Meanwhile, Jake rushed over to untie mudkip while Brittany and her pokémon were doing battle with the nuzleaf and the single seedot.

"Jake? Jake?" Niko yelled out.

"Niko! I'm over here with Brittany!" Jake shouted to his brother as a taillow descended from the air, wings glowing, and attacked one of the nuzleaf, knocking it over. Soon enough, the ruffled brown hair of Jake's older brother came into view, with JJ and James following closely behind.

"Oh, you're alright…geez. _Are_ you alright?" Niko asked, gripping his brother's shoulders.

"Yeah Niko! I'm just fine! But these pokémon aren't being very nice…they took mudkip and I went after them! And then Brittany came in and helped out!"

Niko turned to his brunette friend and smiled honestly. Brittany, who barely noticed it, smiled back before watching torchic get hit with a swift attack. JJ joined in to help her with shroomish, who stunned the nuzleaf and seedot with a stun spore, giving torchic and pichu room to attack while Niko and Jake turned their attention to the shiftry.

"Niko we have to help this seedot! It's being hurt by the shiftry!" Jake said urgently. "Mudkip, use water gun!"

"Mudddd-kiiiiip!" The mudfish pokémon cried out as it released a burst of water from its mouth. The shiftry phased out of the way as it reappeared at mudkip's side, slapping it with its powerful leaf-fan, sending the water type hurtling into a tree nearby.

"Taillow, use wing attack!" Niko shouted in anger. The swallow pokémon shot down at its new opponent, wings glowing. Shiftry didn't see it coming, and collided with the flying type, knocking both of them into the ground. Jake then ran over to mudkip, who looked unconscious.

"Mudkip! Mudkip are you alright?" Jake asked. Moments later, the seedot waddled over to Jake and mudkip. It touched the top of its head to mudkip and began to glow green. Moments later, mudkip woke up, although looking weak. "You're alright…thanks, seedot!" Jake said appreciatively, rubbing the top of seedot's head. "Can you fight still, mudkip?"

The mud fish pokémon, without hesitation, jumped out of Jake's hands and ran back towards shiftry, who was still doing battle with taillow. Mudkip then leapt into the air and bashed its head against shiftry's, knocking the wickid pokémon over. Shiftry then picked mudkip up and threw it at taillow, knocking both pokémon over. As it was about to finish them off, it was pelted by a barrage of razor-sharp leaves. Shiftry turned to see the leaves originating from seedot.

"Yeah seedot! Let's fight them! Use razor leaf!"

The seedot obeyed Jake, continuing its attack as mudkip and taillow were able to get up. Mudkip used rock smash once more while taillow used wing attack, both of which were enough to bring the shiftry down. Seedot then ran up and headbutted shiftry in the chest, dealing the final blow to the powerful wickid pokémon.

"Jake, you did great!" Niko complimented. "And that seedot seemed to listen to you, too!"

"Well," Jake said, blushing a little, "it just wanted to beat shiftry too, I guess."

"It'd make a great addition to your team, buddy," Niko suggested. His brother looked up at him in shock.

"You sure? I've never caught a pokémon before!"

"It's not hard, Jake," Niko pulled out a pokéball from his bag and handed it to his brother. "You should normally battle it first, but it looks like you've already done enough battling. Come on, let's see if seedot wants to join you."

Jake and Niko both turned to seedot, who looked up at the younger brother, nodding its head. Mudkip walked over to the acorn pokemon's side, as if giving Jake its blessing to catch it. The trainer nodded, and tossed the pokéball onto the ground. It rolled a little before making contact with seedot. The grass type glowed a shiny red color before going into the pokéball. It vibrated a few times before ultimately clicking. Jake had just caught his first pokémon.

"I did it, Niko!" He exclaimed, picking up the pokéball and sending out seedot. "Welcome to my team, seedot! Now, I promise to take better care of you. And if you ever become a shiftry, you won't end up like that one. We'll be good to pokémon, got it?"

The seedot nodded cheerfully, feeling like it finally had someone that wanted to be kind to it. Jake picked the seedot up, noting how light it was, and began walking with his brother and friends back to the ranch, where they would all recollect the events of that evening together.

"We're glad that you kids were able to help defeat shiftry. James and I have been trying to get rid of it for ages now, but it's a wily one, you know."

"We're just glad to help out. Plus, Jake here made a new friend, right?" Brittany said, looking down at Jake, seedot, and mudkip, who were sitting down playing with some of the toys in the reception room.

"Yeah, everything turned out alright, I guess," Niko said.

"And as a token of our appreciation, if you need a place to stay tonight, we'd love to have you," Jane offered. The group quickly agreed, and the couple took them upstairs to their kitchen for dinner, and later showed them to their guest room, where they would stay for the night.

The following morning, Jake was the first to get up. He walked out to the kitchen where James greeted him while Jane was reading. Slowly the other three trainers got up and soon enough they were getting ready to head off to Verdanturf Town, where Brittany and JJ would compete in their second pokémon contest the following day. As they were leaving, James gave JJ some special pokémon food as another token of their thanks. It was their own special brand of food, and as a pokémon breeder should know, the type of food given to a pokémon makes all the difference.

JJ accepted it, and moments later they were off on the road again, with a new companion and new experiences to share.


	18. A windswept contest!

**Episode 18: A windswept contest!**

"Let's go again, torchic! Use attract! Now, ember!" Brittany commanded. The group had arrived in Verdanturf Town earlier than they had expected, and so Brittany and JJ tried to spend that extra time working on their style performances for the upcoming pokémon contest. Although, it turned out Brittany was the one putting more effort into her training than JJ, who seemed confident enough in his shroomish to compete well enough.

Over the past week or so, it had become clear that Brittany valued the idea of becoming a pokémon coordinator, despite how she felt after the Slateport contest. It seemed that, like Niko in Johto, her defeat to a friend lit a fire under her, urging her to try and do better. Niko and Jake watched all of this unfold, and both felt that Brittany had made the right decision in continuing to pursue this new goal. It fit her more than being a breeder, and she seemed to be enjoying it, at least since Slateport.

"Okay torchic, that's enough practice for today. We should get back to the pokémon center and rest up; you'll need it tomorrow," Brittany said, picking pichu up and returning her chick pokémon before going to reunite with her friends at their usual booth. Only this time Wally was there as well. "Oh! Hey Wally!"

"Hey Brittany, I came to watch the contest. Do you feel ready?" The polite green-haired boy asked calmly.

"I think so. Torchic and I have been working on a new routine, and hopefully it pays off. JJ, have you done any practicing?"

"Yeah, did some this morning. Shroomish and I are going to go over it again tomorrow before the contest, just to make sure. But I think we'll be fine," The curly blonde responded, rather lazily as he fed azurill and chikorita. His other three pokémon preferred to feed themselves, and so JJ would just lay out the bowls and let them have at it.

Since his chat with James and Jane at the daycare the previous day, he had decided to start personally feeding his pokémon. Previously on their journeys, he and his friends would occasionally feed their pokémon, and let them eat next to their booth. However, most times they elected to allow the pokémon center to feed them. Now, with a new perspective on breeding, JJ decided that he should feed his own. And as for azurill and chikorita, both were still relatively young, and required more attention than umbreon or growlithe, or even shroomish, who was more mature than his time with JJ would suggest.

"So, Wally, you've got family here?" Brittany asked as she sat down with pichu on her lap.

"Yeah, my aunt and uncle live here. I would always visit them in the summers. That might change now that I'm travelling, I don't know if I'll get a chance to next summer."

"Well, pokémon leagues are usually in the spring. I know I've spent the last two summers at home in Pallet Town," Niko added. "I don't know if the Hoenn League is in spring this coming year, but I can assume that it would be."

"Oh, it definitely is. I think at a different time than the other leagues. Usually they hold the leagues on different weeks in the spring, so that President Goodshow can attend all of them, or most of them."

"That would make sense," Niko said as he took the last bite of his sandwich. "Anyways, I think we'd better get off to bed. These two will certainly need the rest, and we've been walking all day, so I'm sure Jake's pretty tired, too. Right, buddy?" Jake nodded, although absentmindedly, as if he had "zoned-out" during their conversation. The rest of the group laughed at this, which seemed to perk the young boy up. "Yep, off to bed we go!"

* * *

Brittany and JJ sat in the backroom as they waited for the contest to start. They had made light conversation with one another, but it quickly died down as they had lost things to talk about. Soon enough, they could hear Vivian commencing the tournament with her easily recognizable voice.

"Hello everyone! Welcome to the Verdanturf Town Pokémon Contest! I am Vivian Meridian, and I will be your host for today's event. Now, for those unfamiliar with contests, I will run through them with you. There are two stages: The Performance and Battle Stages. In the Performance Stage, coordinators will show off the moves their pokémon know, and in the Battle Stage, they will show their moves in a battle—with style, of course!

"Now, let me also introduce our three judges: Verdanturf Town's very own Nurse Joy! Mr. Contesta, and Mr. Sukizo. They will rate the performances of each coordinator's style performance, and judge the battle only in the event of a tie or when one trainer's pokémon faints. And so, without further ado, let's bring out the first coordinator today. She is from Rustboro City in the Hoenn region, and comes from a long line of pokémon coordinators. Please welcome Madeleine!"

Brittany and JJ looked up at the stunning auburn-haired young woman standing on the stage. She wore a pink and blue sundress that ran down her figure in a rather attractive way. The two trainers sat in the backroom, eyes glued to the television as they found themselves paying less attention to the pokémon than to its coordinator.

"Gorebyss, style up!" She said in a mature, yet calming tone. Out of her love pokéball came a pink serpentine pokémon with a long, pointed mouth. "Use water pulse!"

Gorebyss summoned a light blue ball of water above its head and shot it into the air, watching at it burst several feet above its head.

"Now, use psychic, just like we practiced!" Madeleine continued in the same calm tone. The south sea pokémon's eyes began to glow as it took control of the bursting ball of water, spinning it around in different shapes and swirls. The crowd clearly looked pleased, as they continued to cheer loudly for the gorebyss. Moments later—and several more water tricks—Madeleine returned her south sea pokémon and bowed gracefully.

As she walked back in, JJ stood straight up, which caught her attention.

"Yes?" She asked with a calming, yet oddly sultry tone.

"T-that was uh a beautiful performance," JJ said before sitting back down as Brittany grabbed his arm and pulled him back to their bench.

"You've got Maizie, remember?" Brittany angrily whispered in her friend's ear before turning to the auburn-haired woman. "Sorry about my friend, he just thinks you're cute. It was a wonderful performance, though."

"Thanks," Madeleine said, almost passively as she continued walking down. "Good luck to you, sweetie."

Brittany frowned at this. She didn't like being tossed aside like that, especially after complimenting someone on their clearly exceptional performance. She didn't have time to be angry about it, because she was the third coordinator called to stage.

"And now we have Brittany from Vermilion City in Kanto!" Vivian shouted as she threw her hand to the stage where the young brunette stood.

"Torchic, let's go!" She shouted, summoning her chick pokémon. "Let's start off with attract, alright?"

Torchic chirped eagerly as it winked a little to the audience before generating light pink hearts of varying sizes. Brittany then commanded it to use ember on the hearts. The fire type then released small embers from its mouth, aiming at the hearts, and soon enough each one was lit up, glowing a bright orange color in the well lit stadium. Seeming pleased with her performance, Brittany turned to Vivian, returning torchic, and bowed to the audience before returning to the backroom, where JJ seemed to have stricken up a conversation with Madeleine.

"JJ! What are you doing?" Brittany asked, scolding her friend. "Now's not the time to be flirting!"

"Except he's not, sweetie," Madeleine protested, "we're just talking about pokémon breeding. Your friend here is very interested in it, it's a wonder why he's doing contests at all, actually."

"Oh, there's definitely a reason for that," JJ replied. "Brittany was feeling nervous about her first contest in Slateport, and I decided to enter with her to make her feel more comfortable."

"Does she still feel that way?" Madeleine asked with feigned interest.

"I do not, I'll have you know!" Brittany said, protesting the embarrassment JJ was putting her through.

"Then why is this guy still entering them if he has another goal in mind?" Madeleine continued, clearly trying to push the brunette's buttons, or at least that's what Brittany thought she was doing.

"Because he likes doing them? I don't know, and I don't care! JJ, come on, you should get ready for your performance!"

"Well, it seems like he prepared enough, sweetie. Clearly unlike yours," Madeleine teased, eliciting a small laugh from JJ. This set Brittany off.

"Okay, fine then! Next time you need help with anything, don't come bitching to me!" The brunette snapped and stomped off to a faraway bench. JJ sat there, stunned. Brittany rarely got mad at anyone. In fact, the last time she got this angry was with Niko, back at the Silver Conference. As he was about to continue his conversation with Madeleine, his name was announced, and he ran off to perform with shroomish.

"Next up we have JJ from Pallet Town in Kanto as our sixth coordinator!" Vivian announced as JJ ran onto the stage, quickly sending out his shroomish.

"Alright shroomish, let's go! Use stun spore!"

The mushroom pokémon released a small cloud of sparkling yellow dust into the air, allowing it to expand around the room for a few moments before they continued with their performance. JJ commanded it to use absorb, but only briefly. Shroomish then began to suck in the stun spore, but before it got even halfway to its body, shroomish released the spores again, allowing them to form an expanding ring of yellow dust around its body. JJ and shroomish repeated this exercise a few more times before finishing their performance and returning to the back stage.

JJ and Brittany sat apart from each other for the rest of the contest, with Madeleine standing in front of one of the monitors and watching the other coordinators perform, scoffing occasionally. Eventually Vivian announced the coordinators who would proceed to the next round. Brittany, JJ, and Madeleine all made it, as did five other coordinators out of the 11 that participated.

Brittany's match would go first. She was up against none other than Madeleine and her gorebyss. The two entered the stage on opposing ends, ready to fight to the end.

"Wow, Brittany is at a serious disadvantage here," Wally commented from the stands. "That gorebyss looks very well-trained. Not sure torchic will be able to win."

"True, but style also matters. Brittany's style wasn't too bad this time. I think she'll do just fine. Our group is not bad at defying type disadvantages," Niko replied. Jake sat with mudkip and seedot next to his brother, enamored by Madeleine's attractive looks.

"Gorebyss, style up!" She shouted, summoning her beautiful water type pokémon.

"Torchic, let's go!" Brittany commanded. "Use attract!"

"Oh, please. Gorebyss, water pulse!"

As soon as torchic emitted pink hearts from thin air and directed them at its opponent, it found itself in the line of fire as a glowing blue ball of water rushed towards it. The chick pokémon quickly dodged the attack, narrowly missing. Brittany also found herself evading the attack, eliciting a smirk from her opponent.

"Torchic, rush forward and use ember!" Brittany growled, losing all grace in her tone. The fire type ran forward, spitting fire from its small beak, but Madeleine was ready for it.

"Gorebyss, use psychic," She said calmly. The south sea pokémon's eyes began to glow as it lifted torchic up into the air. "Now, water pulse!"

Gorebyss launched another ball of water at torchic. As the attack successfully landed, gorebyss tossed torchic around in the water, as an imitation of its earlier performance. It then released the chick pokémon, who collapsed just as Brittany's bar fell to zero.

"Wow! What a battle! It is clear that Madeleine is no coordinator to take lightly! She will move on to the second round of three in this Battle Stage! Stay tuned!" Vivian shouted into a camera before congratulating the two women on their performances and moving onto the next pair of trainers—JJ and a young girl named Katie.

JJ summoned his shroomish, and Katie sent out a masquerain, which was a bug-flying type pokémon with light blue skin and two pairs of rhombus-shaped wings on each side of its body.

"Shroomish, use stun spore!"

"Masquerain, silver wind!" Katie shouted. The eyeball pokémon quickly flapped its wings, generating a silver-tinted wind that blew the stun spore back at shroomish, who closed its eyes and flinched at the yellow dust crowding around it. However, it was not affected by the move and, realizing this, JJ continued with an absorb. "Quick attack!" Katie shouted, and the bug type shot forward. "Now, spin around and use water sport!" She commanded again. Masquerain spun at a downwards angle, releasing water from its mouth as it collided with shroomish. She was clearly going for the style points there, and it showed when she still had a full bar and JJ's was already half depleted with four minutes to go.

"Shroomish, use stun spore and absorb again!" JJ commanded, trying to emulate his performance from earlier.

"Masquerain, water sport and silver wind!" Katie cried out. Up close, masquerain released bursts of water everywhere as it vigorously flapped its wings at shroomish, propelling it backwards towards JJ. The two collided, knocking the curly blonde off of his feet. Shroomish did manage to absorb some of its opponent's health, and thus deplete a small bit of Katie's yellow bar, but it hardly did much. Shroomish's weak performance in the Battle Stage left it quickly defeated.

"And the winner of this round is Katie from Rubello Town!" Vivian shouted out in excitement. "Wonderful battle, that masquerain is certainly lovely!"

JJ sulked into the backroom, immediately noticing Brittany, but the brunette chose not to speak to him. Nevertheless, he sat down next to her, head drooping. Not even Madeleine said anything, as she simply scoffed before walking off to the monitor to watch the next round.

* * *

The group (plus Wally) sat outside the contest hall. Niko and Jake had heard about the spat between their two other friends, and chose not to bring it up, although at one point Jake tried to, but was quickly silenced by his brother. They were just about to leave when Brittany and JJ spotted Madeleine walking off confidently. She had won the contest overall, defeating Katie in the second round and then another guy in the third and final round of the Battle Stage, all with gorebyss. As she passed by Brittany and her friends, the auburn-haired young woman turned her head slightly to the right to catch the brunette's eye. Brittany returned it, scowling slightly as they began to lose their visual connection.

"Brittany, I'm sorry," JJ said as they all sat on the steps to the contest hall, watching the sun set over the mountains beyond Verdanturf Town. The brunette said nothing, simply getting up and walking in the direction of the pokémon center, hands in her denim pockets and pichu followed at her right side.

Niko pat his friend on the back. "She'll come to. What you did was definitely rude, but soon enough she'll accept your apology. I wouldn't worry too much about it now."

"Is that what you did?" JJ asked, turning to Niko with a look of concern.

"Well, no. I thought about it every damn day. But my situation was a bit more—err—personal than yours was. No offense."

"None taken. I just wish I knew what to say is all."

"You won't, but that's okay. We're all learning together. That's what friends are for, right?"

"Right," JJ said as he stood up. Wally, Niko, and Jake slowly followed him. They then said their farewells to Wally, who was off to visit his family while the group would go to the pokémon center and rest up. The following day they would head back to Mauville City, where Niko would finally compete for his third Hoenn League gym badge.


	19. Defense is the best offense!

**Episode 19: Defense is the best offense!**

"Welcome to the Mauville Gym!" A joyful voice echoed through the gym as Niko and his friends entered. "Have you come to challenge Wattson, the gym leader?"

"Yes, yes I have!" Niko shouted back into the microphone laid out before him. "My name is Niko, and I'm from Pallet Town in Kanto."

"Very well! Meet me at the battlefield in a minute. It's just down the hall," The voice instructed before it got cut off.

Niko and his friends arrived back in Mauville City earlier in the morning. After Niko did some last-minute training with his team of pokémon, he felt ready enough to challenge Wattson. This gym battle in particular was a long time coming—it felt like years since his gym battle with Brawly back at Dewford Town. A lot has changed since then—Brittany and JJ have competed in two contests, he caught a new pokémon, and reunited with two of his new rivals. Going into this battle, he felt confident, which seemed to be a theme of his gym challenge so far in Hoenn.

The Mauville Gym was more than just a gym—it seemed to be a laboratory of sorts. Unlike with previous gyms, when the group walked through the front door they didn't immediately see a battlefield. Instead they were greeted with a hallway that led to several sets of doors, and in front of them was a standard-sized microphone. As Niko walked up to it, a jolly voice began speaking with him.

They walked down the hall to the door at the end. When they opened it, they noticed a standard dirt battlefield with a short, plump man in a yellow jumpsuit and casual shirt with clouds and lightning bolts on it. He has a short white beard and seemed to be balding atop his head, where a small spike of white hair shot up backwards at an angle.

"Hello young man! You must be Niko!" He yelled out cheerfully, waddling over to the other end of the field to greet his newest challenger. "My name is Wattson, gym leader of Mauville City and grand architect of Mauville City!"

"Pleasure to meet you, Wattson. When can we battle?" Niko asked, half-jokingly.

"Oh, right now of course! Now, I've designed an assistant to be our judge. I borrowed the idea from a younger colleague of mine—Clemont from Lumiose City in Kalos, who occasionally uses a robot to stand in his place as gym leader. This robot here—called Wattbot—will act as our judge. This match will be three-on-three—is that okay with you?"

"Of course it is," Niko replied, more interested in Wattbot. Wattson moved to the other end of the field. When he did, he withdrew a pokéball from the pocket of his jumpsuit and tossed it onto the field, summoning a magnemite.

"Alright then. Aron, let's go!" Niko shouted, feeling a bit of nostalgia for his own magnemite, now a magneton. "Use mud slap!"

"Magnemite, thunderwave!" Wattson commanded. Fortunately for Niko and aron, the thunderwave collided with the mud slap, rendering it useless. Aron then slowly moved forward in order to get closer and use mud slap again. "Magnemite, supersonic!"

The magnet pokémon began to vibrate its small magnet-like arms, creating a sound that seemed to cause pain to the iron armor pokémon. On the surface, however, it seemed like aron took no damage at all.

"Aron, use mud slap again!" Niko commanded. Aron then kicked dirt in the air, but in Niko's direction instead of magnemite's. "Wrong direction, buddy! Turn around!"

Aron obeyed its trainer, but when it was told to use mud slap again, it buried its head into the ground below it (or, well, more like smashed its head into the ground). It took Niko a few more turns to realize his pokémon was confused. Confused himself on how to deal with this, Niko simply returned aron, hoping that it would recover from its confusion soon enough.

"Challenger Niko has returned Aron," Wattbot declared in a stereotypical robotic voice.

"Treecko, let's go!" Niko commanded, summoning his grass type.

"Why treecko?" JJ wondered, questioning his friend's choice. "He owns a magneton, he should know better."

"But think of what else he could substitute with," Brittany countered. "Taillow or electrike, both poor choices compared to treecko, at least type-wise. Plus, I think he chose treecko because he knows how magnemite and magneton typically battle. They're fast, but treecko is faster and has type neutrality to it."

"Good point," JJ said, continuing to watch the battle.

"Treecko, use pound!" Niko commanded. The wood gecko pokémon rushed forward, leaping into the air and slamming its tail onto magnemite's head. However, the electric type launched a thundershock, which forced electricity to surge through treecko's body and caused it to crash into the ground below it.

"Magnemite, sonicboom!" Wattson commanded.

"Treecko, dodge it and use pound again!" Niko cried out. The wood gecko rolled to the side as the wave of sonic energy slammed into the battlefield, and then leapt back into the air and hit the side of its opponent with its thick tail, launching the small magnet pokémon across the field, albeit doing little damage in the process. Treecko then followed up by running at magnemite, grabbing onto it, and slowly drained its health.

"Magnemite, thundershock!" Wattson shouted.

"Treecko, let go, dodge the attack, and used absorb again!" Niko commanded. Treecko tried to dodge the attack, but got hit in the process. Reeling back for a moment, it barely evaded a sonicboom before it used absorb again, this time refusing to let go, even when magnemite used thundershock. "Keep it up buddy, you can do it!" Niko shouted out encouragingly. Treecko continued to hold on as the health of the two pokémon fluctuated. Magnemite then collapsed onto the ground, which treecko falling shortly after.

"Treecko and magnemite are both unable to battle! Wattson and Niko will send out their next pokémon!" Wattbot declared.

"Voltorb, let's go!"

"Electrike, you're up!" Niko shouted, summoning his newest pokémon. "Alright buddy, I believe in you. You can beat this guy, alright?"

Electrike, who seemed a little nervous, nodded in response as it beamed at voltorb.

"Voltorb, use rollout!"

"Electrike, dodge with quick attack!" Niko shouted out. The lightning pokémon stayed true to its species name as it agilely evaded the oversized rolling pokéball, which generated enough energy to launch a sonicboom while using rollout. Electrike, not seeing this, took the hit and was sent rolling across the field towards Wattson.

"Voltorb, use rollout!" Wattson commanded. The ball pokémon started rolling once more, gather up enough speed to deal a commanding blow to electrike. However, the wolf-like pokémon got back onto its feet and dodged again using quick attack. This continued to repeat for some time while Niko considered a way to beat this thing. He figured that it might know self-destruct, and wanted to save electrike from some of the trauma that might result from getting hit from that attack. That's when he found a strategy that _might_ work.

"Electrike, quick attack directly at voltorb!" Niko commanded, and the lightning pokémon burst forward at its opponent. Voltorb was about to roll at electrike with rollout, but Niko issued a second command, which rested solely on his timing. "Now thunder wave!"

Electrike halted itself completely, releasing the electricity stored in its fur in every direction, inevitably hitting voltorb and significantly slowing down the ball pokémon.

"Now, use howl and quick attack!" Niko commanded, knowing that effects that howl had on electrike. It made the lightning pokémon feel much stronger than it actually was, and Niko believed might unlock some hidden potential in his new pokémon. Electrike then burst forward at a faster speed than usual, slamming into the stunned voltorb and sending it hurtling into the air, towards the wall behind Wattson. Voltorb collided with the wall, creating a small crater in it roughly the same size at the ball pokémon, which fell moments after crashing.

"Voltorb is unable to battle, electrike wins!" Wattbot declared.

"Hmm…alright, Niko, that was fair enough. That electrike is strong. But we'll see how it handles this. Magneton, you're up!" Wattson said in a less joyful tone. It was clear now that he was hellbent on winning this match.

"Electrike, don't be too intimidated. I own a magneton, and I know how we'll beat it. Use howl again!"

"Magneton, supersonic!" Wattson commanded.

"Quickly, use quick attack!" Niko shouted, but it was too late. As soon as electrike burst forward with quick attack, it heard the supersonic and immediately shifted to the right, slamming its head into the stands that the group were sitting in. The force of the collision was nearly enough to defeat electrike on its own. "Can you continue, electrike?" Niko asked worriedly. Electrike, although confused, nodded in confirmation, which worried Niko even more. "Alright, return then."

"Niko has substituted his electrike for his only other pokémon—aron," Wattbot observed.

"That's right. Aron, let's go!" Niko commanded, suddenly coming up with a plan.

"Magneton, use supersonic!" Wattson shouted.

"Aron, force your head into the ground!" Niko cried out commandingly, knowing that his steel type had a hard enough head to break rocks—it could certainly break the earth underneath it. Aron did so, managing to successfully cancel the noise of the supersonic. "Now, get up and use mud slap!"

"Sonicboom!" Wattson commanded. Magneton's trio of magnets began to vibrate as it generated enough energy to release it in aron's direction. However, being a steel and rock type, aron hardly felt damaged by the attack. It did, however, break through the mud slap. To win, aron would have to get closer.

"Aron, continuously use mud slap while walking forward!" Niko commanded, trying out another technique.

"Magneton, shock wave!" Wattson shouted. Magneton generated sparks of electricity, as if it were using thunder wave, and released it in every possible direction, hitting aron and sending it back a few feet.

Wattson and magneton repeated this move several times before aron was feeling fatigued from the attacks; it had barely hit magneton. Realizing the difficulties of having a slow pokémon, Niko had to find ways to improvise, and was struggling more than he initially realized. He was not used to training defensive pokémon, and now he regretted not trying to find a strategy that worked specifically for aron in his many training sessions before this.

 _Think Niko, think…how can I get aron close enough? I think that a couple headbutts could beat this thing, but I need to slow its reflexes. Wouldn't mud slap do the trick? Probably, since it's the only ranged attack aron knows…_

"Aron, use mud slap continuously again! Don't give in to the shock waves! You can do this!" Niko shouted encouragingly to the pokémon he had once helped rescue. The iron armor pokémon started moving forward again, slowly as it kicked up dirt into the air towards magneton. Occasionally the move would shield from the shock wave, but other times the wave of electricity would land, attempting to knock aron backwards. Yet this time, the steel type refused to move. Niko helped it out back in Granite Cave, and now aron believed it was its turn to help its trainer out.

Aron then got close enough to magneton, who attempted to hover away as a way of teasing the small steel type. But the mud slap did as Niko expected—magneton was certainly a little slower now. But as it could hover, a headbutt seemed too much of a stretch—almost literally.

"Aron, jump!" Niko commanded, noticing that magneton bobbed a little. Aron luckily jumped when magneton's bob was as its lowest point, and grabbed onto the lowest magnet. The weight of aron pulled the entire trio of magnets to the ground, now giving the iron armor pokémon the advantage. "Use mud slap!" Aron slapped more dirt at magneton, clearly irritating it, as the magnet pokémon released a close-range shock wave. "Now, finish it off with headbutt!"

Aron lowered its head as it smashed into magneton, quickly knocking out the electric type.

"Magneton is unable to battle, aron wins! The victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!" Wattbot declared, throwing up an arm in Niko's direction.

"Aron, you did it!" Niko said, running over to embrace his heavy little pokémon. "You persevered—I'm proud of you for that. Well done, buddy."

The steel type closed its eyes and smiled, feeling it like finally earned its trainer's respect with this win. Wattson broke up the moment of congratulations with a small gray and yellow-colored badge in the shape of a coiled wire.

"Niko, you and your pokémon battled excellently!" He said, the joy in his tone returning. "Because of that, I award you the dynamo badge! Congratulations!"

Niko took the badge and shook and eager Wattson's hand. "Thank you, sir. I certainly learned a lot in this gym battle. I've never really used defensive-based pokémon before. Most of the ones I'd caught and trained before were faster and relied more on offensive moves. Aron is really the first pokémon that is the exact opposite, so I had to learn how to improvise."

"And you did quite well with that. I guess I need to learn to keep magneton higher in the air next time. Hah! Hahahahaha!" Wattson guffawed loudly. "Anyways, I don't know what gyms you've challenged so far, but the closest one from here is in Lavaridge Town. It's just up north, right at the base of Mt. Chimney."

"Thanks for the help, Wattson!" Niko said, shaking the gym leader's hand once more before saying goodbye and exiting the gym with his friends, all of whom were quite pleased with his performance in the gym. Now, as usual, they were off to the pokémon center to heal up and plan for the next leg of their journey in Hoenn.


	20. Family feud!

**Episode 20: Family feud!**

"So it looks like Lavaridge Town isn't too far away…maybe a week's journey?" JJ said, toying with the map feature on his pokénav. "Oh, and hey! Brittany, there's a pokémon contest up in Fallarbor Town. It's pretty far, maybe a week away from Lavaridge town, since we'd have to go around Mt. Chimney…Brittany?"

JJ looked up from his pokénav to see the brunette girl staring at him with an emotionless expression while urging him to continue on.

"Right. Well, do you want to participate in it?"

"I don't know. Do _you_?" Brittany asked in a slightly sarcastic tone.

"I asked you first!" JJ snapped back, a little agitated now. "Look, I said I'm sorry! No need to be rude about it."

"Oh, yes JJ, _I'm_ the rude one. Sorry, must have forgot."

"You two need to cut it out. We'll go to Fallarbor Town. Gives me more time to train my team up. Isn't the next gym a fire type?" Niko asked JJ, who nodded. "Exactly. Not exactly the easiest type for me either. JJ, how far is Fallarbor Town from here?"

"Week and a half," JJ muttered.

"Great, gives us all time to prepare! Now, let's go get some supplies and head off!"

* * *

Half an hour later the group left the Mauville City pokémart and began their journey northward. By the end of the day they had made it down most of Route 111 and decided to camp out on the side of a steep hill. Niko summoned his full team of pokémon and began to work on some training while Brittany brainstormed new performance ideas for the Fallarbor Contest. JJ, still not on speaking terms with Brittany, decided to cook alone that night, with Jake and his pokémon occasionally helping out.

"Jake, did I do anything wrong?" JJ asked. "I mean, today. Of course back in Verdanturf I was kind of rude to Brittany, but did I say anything wrong today?"

Jake thought for a moment as he was petting seedot. "No, I don't think so. She's probably just still mad at you. I can't explain girls, JJ."

"Of course you can't. Well, thanks anyways."

"No problem," Jake said as he got up and walked over to see what Niko was doing. As it turned out, he was trying to teach treecko bullet seed. So far, it seemed like he was succeeding, since the wood gecko was spitting seeds from its mouth, but they didn't seem to be doing much damage. Eventually Niko and treecko gave up for the night to sit down and eat. After an hour of on-and-off conversation, usually between Niko, Jake, and either JJ or Brittany, the four trainers quickly fell asleep, another long day behind them.

"WAKE UP!" Niko awoke with a start to see a young woman with short black hair screaming in his ear. "What the hell are you doing on our property!?"

" _Your_ property? Whaaa?" Niko asked groggily as he sat up. In front of him was the origin of the voice, with a middle-aged couple standing behind her, also looking unhappy. "Di-did we do something wrong?"

"Yes, son," The older man said, "You are sleeping here on our property. Leave before we call the authorities."

"We had no idea, our apologies!" Niko said, jumping out of his sleeping bag to see Brittany, JJ, and Jake all waking up at the same time. "Hey guys, we've gotta go. Apparently, we were sleeping on the…I'm sorry, but who are you?"

"How do you _not_ know us!?" The middle-aged woman said. "We're the Winstrate Family!" That's Victor, I'm Victoria, and Vivi is our daughter. Also, don't you dare use that tone of voice with me young man!"

"I-I wasn't using any tone of voice. Just wanted to know who you are."

"Well, I still didn't like it. Now leave us, or we'll call the authorities."

"I heard you the first time, thanks," Niko said as he continued packing his things up. Normally he wasn't this combative (or even seemingly combative), but it was early in the morning and he didn't like the attitude that was being directed at him.

"But wait," Brittany said, looking around her. "There's no indication that this property belongs to the Winstrate Family. Otherwise we would have seen it."

"Don't give us that attitude missy!" Victor said angrily. "Everyone around here knows of us, and knows where the boundaries of our property are. If you can't figure that out than you're dumber than we thought."

"Okay, listen pal," JJ piped in. "You need these things called _fences_ and _signs_ to help travelers like us figure out where your 'property' is. This isn't the damn stone age, and even then, they probably had some way of telling whose place was which."

" _That's it!_ " Victor erupted. "Screw the authorities. We'll deal with you here and now. Zigzagoon, let's go!"

"Torchic, I choose—huh?" Brittany said as JJ summoned his pokémon instead.

"Chikorita, you're up! Use razor leaf!" JJ commanded quickly. The leaf pokémon snapped its head backwards and forwards, releasing a flurry of razor-sharp leaves at its opponent, who was too slow to evade them. "Great job chikorita! Now, use razor leaf again!"

"Zigzagoon, rock smash!" Victor shouted. The tiny racoon pokémon ran towards its opponent, trying to dodge leaves as it's paw began to glow. It leapt into the air and slammed its front paw on chikorita's head, knocking it over.

"Chikorita! Are you okay?" JJ asked, getting down to check on the leaf pokémon.

"Oh, pathetic!" Victory snapped. "Next time you try to pick a fight, do it against someone who won't hurt your little chikorita. What even is that thing anyways?"

JJ snapped his head back up and scowled at Victor. _Who the hell does this guy think he is?_ He asked. Before he even ushered a command, chikorita was back on its feet, ready to fight again. It then ran forward and slammed into zigzagoon, knocking the normal type over.

"Great job, chikorita! You did—it?" JJ asked as the leaf pokémon began to glow and grow larger in size. "Oh, my god…you're evolving!" He pulled out his pokédex to observe the evolution, which was essentially a larger version of chikorita.

" _Bayleef, the leaf pokémon. Grass type. A spicy aroma emanates from around its neck. The aroma acts as a stimulant to restore health_."

"Wow…alright then! Bayleef, use razor leaf!" JJ commanded, and quickly put away the zigzagoon, stunning Victor.

"You're kidding me…taillow, let's go! Use wing attack!"

"Bayleef, razor leaf again!" JJ commanded, and the leaf pokémon knocked taillow to the ground with the razor leaves before leaping a foot into the air and slamming onto the swallow pokémon with the full weight of its body. "So…you learned body slam, too. Gotcha!"

Victor returned taillow, shocked at his defeat. His wife, though, was far angrier. "You think you can just waltz on in here and act like you own the place? Humph! Well then, get a taste of this then! Roselia, let's go!" Victoria shouted, summoning a small leaf-like pokémon with blue and red roses on each hand.

"I've got this one, JJ," Jake said, moving his curly blonde friend aside. "Seedot, I choose you!"

"Roselia, use magical leaf!" Victoria shouted.

"Seedot, bide!" Jake commanded. Earlier on he had learnt the moveset of his seedot. The acorn pokémon sat entirely still while roselia pelted it with glowing green and purple leaves. Over time, seedot began to glow a bright white color, and it launched forward at its opponent, crashing into the roselia and knocking both of them onto the ground.

Both seedot and roselia got back onto their feet and exchanged moves, magical leaf and bide. Seedot, feeling exhausted, used harden on Jake's command, and then summoned nature power which, at the base of a steep hill, turned out to be rock slide. The thorn pokémon, not seeing the barrage of rocks hurtling at it, was quickly defeated by the power of nature.

"You must be kidding me! A little _kid_ beat me!?" Victoria shouted down at Jake. As she was about to run at him, Niko got in front, pulling out a pokéball. Meanwhile, Vivi got in front of her mother, and it looked like a third battle was about to go down.

"Mom, I'll deal with them. Marill, I choose you!"

"Treecko, you're up!" Niko shouted. "Use absorb!"

"Water gun!" Vivi commanded. But marill was no match for the agility of the wood gecko, who quickly dodged the burst of water and collided with its opponent, grabbing onto it with both hands and slowly draining it of its energy. "What! Marill, no!"

"Treecko, use bullet seed!" Niko commanded. Now feeling energized, treecko opened its mouth and fired out thick green seeds at marill's face, quickly defeating the aquamouse pokémon. "Great job, treecko! You did it!" Niko cheered.

"Fine! Numel, you're up!"

"Treecko, return. Let's not get into that fight. Taillow, let's go! Use wing attack!"

"Ember, numel!" Vivi shouted. The numb pokémon spit a series of embers at the swallow diving straight for it, but the flying type casually evaded the move before it crashed its wing into numel, hardly moving the rather heavy pokémon but nonetheless doing damage to it. "Numel, use tackle!"

"Taillow, dodge and use quick attack!" Niko shouted, as his tiny swallow casually swerved out of numel's way before crashing into it again, dealing more damage. A few more quick attacks and numel was finished with, leaving Vivi angry and upset.

"Shroomish, let's go!" She shouted, "Use stun spore!"

"Taillow, dodge the stun spore and use wing attack!" Niko commanded. The swallow pokémon dove around the yellow dust and slammed into shroomish, dragging it along the ground as it turned its wing attack into quick attack, and rammed the mushroom pokémon into a nearby tree, thereby knocking the grass type out. "Great job, taillow! Return now," Niko said, petting his bird pokémon before sending it back into its pokéball.

Vivi was in tears now as her parents began to comfort her. "What do you think you're doing, upsetting our daughter like this!?" Victoria snapped at Niko.

"Listen, you challenged all of us to pokémon battles, and we each beat you, fair and square. Now please, leave us alone, we're already getting out of your hair anyways."

"Victoria, what's going on?" An elderly woman said as she approached the Winstrate Family from behind.

"Oh, mother," Victoria said, "These _children_ were sleeping on our property, and when we tried to get them to leave, they beat us in a pokémon battle. Even Vivi!"

The old woman noticed Vivi crying and immediately snapped her head towards Niko with a look of death in her eyes. "You did _what!?_ No one upsets my granddaughter!" Vicky shouted angrily as a pokéball suddenly appeared in her hand. "Medicham, let's finish these children off!"

As Niko was about to pull out taillow's pokéball again, Brittany stopped him. "Niko, let me. I haven't battled yet," Niko nodded as the brunette woman pulled out her own pokéball. "Wartortle, let's go!"

"Medicham, use hi jump kick!" Vicky commanded, both her hands resting on a cane. She was a short woman, with thick gray hair tied up in a ponytail, which went halfway down the bright red kimono she was wearing. The medicham launched itself into the air with its powerful legs and quickly descended back to the ground, aiming directly for wartortle, who withdrew into its shell as if it were using the move withdraw.

"Now, wartortle, use skull bash!" Brittany shouted as the turtle pokémon shot into the air and collided with medicham's foot, resulting in both pokémon crashing into the ground. "Now, use water gun!"

"Medicham, thunderpunch!" Vicky commanded. Medicham's fist began to spark with electricity as it repelled the water gun with it, creating a small explosion that shielded it from view before it slammed the electrified fist into an unsuspecting wartortle. "Now, use psychic!"

Medicham's eyes began to glow when suddenly wartortle shot into the air and came hurtling back to the ground as quickly as it left. Medicham then followed up with another thunder punch, but the water type was quick this time—it _grabbed_ the fist and used water gun on Brittany's command, creating a small explosion that repelled both pokémon in opposite directions.

"Wartortle, withdraw!" Brittany commanded. "Now, use skull bash!"

"Medicham, prepare a thunderpunch!" Vicky shouted. Once more, the two pokémon collided at high speeds, with punch meeting skull. This time, wartortle used water gun from inside the shell, repelling it as it created an explosion on medicham's end, rocketing the turtle pokémon even further backwards. Wartortle then landed on its hind legs as medicham wobbled a bit before collapsing face-first onto the ground, much to the shock of everyone (even Brittany and wartortle).

"Wow…" Vicky said with a surprise. "Young girl, you fought quite well. I'll admit that. Listen…I am sorry if our family has caused you any trouble. We're very protective of our property and ourselves. Maybe Victor can arrange to build a fence, or do something to show what is ours and what isn't. I hope you can understand."

Brittany nodded as she returned wartortle. "I—we do. It was all a misunderstanding," she then turned to JJ, "And every family gets into some sort of fight, or has troubles, but they work through them. Right?"

JJ nodded in return, a nervous look on his face. The Winstrates nodded, and turned to walk back to their house. As they were walking away, they could hear Vicky saying something about how they could put up a serious fight against some guy named Vito.

Brittany turned to JJ again, looking apologetic. "Listen, JJ, I'm sorry for giving you the cold shoulder. I should have gotten over it quicker. But what you said really hurt, and at a time when I really didn't want to be."

"And I'm sorry, too. I-I uh said some rude things to you. It won't happen again. That Madeleine girl is, well, kind of mean. We're going to beat her in the Fallarbor Contest, right?"

Brittany shook JJ's hand. "Of course we will."

Niko got in between both of them, holding each hand on their shoulders. "Great, now let's stop talking about how we're going to win and just get going! Off to Fallarbor Town!"

The group then cheered as they grabbed their bags and continued up north, feeling resolute as friendships were mended and old dreams reenergized.


	21. To catch a fire type!

**Episode 21: To catch a fire type**

On their way to Fallarbor Town, where Brittany and JJ would compete in their third Pokémon Contest, the group found themselves walking through the fiery path. Like the name implies, the fiery path is, well, hot. As one of the tunnels on the eastern end of Mt. Chimney, it is a relatively short journey, but nonetheless a difficult one, as the temperature is far higher than anyone in the group was used to. Unfortunately, it was the quickest path to Fallarbor Town.

"Niko, I'm hot…" Jake complained moments after entering the tunnel.

"I know, I know. It's not gonna be easy, that's for sure. But it'll be quick, I promise!" Niko reassured his younger brother, who had mudkip out to occasionally spray water gun into his face. Brittany did the same with wartortle.

To brave the heat, the group all changed into shorts and sleeveless, thin shirts. Brittany tied her hair back, and JJ tried putting on a sweatband, only to realize it wasn't helping as much as he thought. Niko, who strongly disliked hot weather, kept wiping sweat off of his forehead, and occasionally itching his hair, which was not reacting well to the heat either.

It seemed like an eternity before they saw the end of the path, but once they did, the four trainers—plus the two water types—made a run for it down the tunnel. They were about to make it when Jake tripped over what looked like a rock. As he screamed and tumbled to the floor, Niko immediately halted himself and turned around to help his brother. When he attempted to do so, he noticed that Jake didn't trip over a rock—he tripped over a _pokémon_.

"What the-?" Niko wondered as he helped Jake up. He didn't have to wonder for too long, though—the "rock" slowly rose from the ground to reveal a familiar yellow and orange pokémon. "Is that a…numel?" Niko asked. He didn't get much of an answer, as the numel scowled at Niko and began to charge for it, causing the older brother to drag the younger one to the end of the tunnel, where JJ and Brittany were waiting.

"Run! Run!" Niko shouted, throwing his free hand in the air as he dragged Jake through the fiery path. The other two trainers noticed the raging numel charging at them and immediately ran through the tunnel's exit and into a small field on the mountainside. As they stopped to catch their breath, they saw Niko and Jake still running, with the two-foot tall fire type racing after them.

"Should we help?" Brittany asked.

"Let's try and distract it. Can wartortle fight it?"

"Sure can," Brittany exclaimed. "Wartortle, use water gun!"

The turtle pokémon tried spraying water at the numel, but due to the long exposure to the heat inside fiery path, it only sprayed out steam from its mouth, much to Brittany and JJ's dismay. They saw that Niko had pushed Jake aside and taken ownership of angering numel, and was still running somehow. They then noticed Jake and mudkip trying to calm it down, but the result was very much the same—mudkip couldn't use water gun either.

JJ then thought of something, snapping his fingers as he did so. "Niko! I uh have an idea!"

"What is it?" Niko shouted as he continued running through the field.

"Throw at pokéball at it! It might slow it down, especially if you catch it!" JJ explained. Niko, desperate for _any_ solution to this mess, went with the idea. He reached into his bag for a pokéball, which significantly slowed him down. Just as numel was about to collide with Niko, the latter turned around and threw a pokéball at the pokémon's head. Numel turned bright red as it went into the pokéball. Niko doubled over, gasping for air as he watched the pokéball vibrate several times. It hardly occurred to him that he might own this rather angry pokémon.

And, as it turned out, he would own it. The pokéball stopped moving with a clicking noise, indicating it was now Niko's to train.

"Wow, uh…thanks, JJ, for the idea," Niko said as he got down to grab the pokéball, falling over onto the grass from exhaustion. As he sat there he looked at it for a moment. "Honestly, I'm kind of scared to send it out."

"Well, you could just leave it here, y'know," JJ suggested, eliciting a light gasp from Brittany and a confused look from Niko.

"I won't do that, JJ. It's mine now. Plus, I've never trained a fire type before. How bad could it be?"

"Not hard at all. Fay, Brittany, and I all have one. Fay had two even! Clearly it isn't difficult," JJ said, sitting in the field next to his friend. "And if you have any problems, you can just release it, right?"

"JJ…" Niko said, shaking his head. "I can't just get rid of my pokémon. That doesn't seem right."

"You're right…I don't know, I just don't feel too comfortable with that thing around us…"

"But _you_ suggested that I catch it!" Niko exclaimed, looking incredulously at JJ.

"I know, but you still have the option to just leave it there!" JJ protested.

"Okay!" Brittany said, sitting in between the two. "Stop it, both of you. Niko's keeping it but, if it turns out to be too much trouble and breaks our things—or worse, one of us—then Niko will release it. Got it?" JJ and Niko both nodded, quickly pleasing the brunette. "Good. Now, let's get going. Fallarbor Town isn't going to be waiting for us if we don't hurry it up!"

The group continued walking until they found a small pond to rest at. While they were cleaning up, Niko summoned his team to introduce them to numel.

"Everyone, this is numel. I just caught it while it was chasing after—ow!" Niko shouted as he felt his right arm burning. Numel used ember on him! Niko ran towards the pond and got down onto his knees to quickly throw water on it. It wasn't until a panicking mudkip sprayed Niko's arm from top to bottom that the brown-haired trainer began to feel a little better.

"Niko, are you okay?" Brittany asked as she got down on her knees to observe her friend's burn. "Ouch…how'd this happen?"

"Numel burnt me…" Niko said, dropping his head in shame.

"You might need to get rid of it, Niko," Brittany suggested as she took care of his burn. Niko shook his head in disagreement.

"No, I'm keeping it. I'll try to deal with it."

"But what if numel burns you again, or worse…?" Brittany continued, still urging Niko to reconsider.

"I'm keeping it. That's final," He looked up at his pokémon. All of them were keeping their distance from their new teammate, who was resting in the shade under a tree, seemingly without a care in the world.

The group stayed at the pond for the rest of the day. From a distance Niko watched his pokémon work on some new moves. Taillow was trying to learn double team, which shouldn't be too hard, since it was certainly fast enough to create an illusion of itself. Nonetheless, it had difficulty multiplying itself more than once, but Niko kept at it, trying to recall how yanma had known it. Treecko was working on improving its bullet seed by using it on a tree. It was trying to work on its release and speed of the individual seeds. Aron was working on strengthening its mud slap so that it would cover more ground. The next gym was fire type, and Niko knew aron would be his ace in that particular battle, so both agreed that working on mud slap was the right way to go. Lastly, electrike was trying to learn an electric move. Niko wanted to help it learn shock wave, just like Wattson's magneton had learned. However, as this particular move was complicated to learn, Niko settled for trying to teach it thundershock. As it was practicing, it was only able to produce single sparks, not a flowing stream of electricity that characterized thundershock.

Numel, meanwhile, continued to sleep, clearly not caring about the world around it. Niko, wary of trying to talk to it, simply let it sleep through the day and into the night, only bothering it to bring it food. Numel hardly looked at its trainer as it ate the food before going back to sleep.

"Niko, are you going to do something about the numel?" Brittany asked, looking across their campsite to the small mound of pokémon that was the numb pokémon.

"I really don't know what to do. It clearly doesn't want to be with me, but I want to believe in it," Niko said, exhaustion in his voice. "Speaking of which, I should at least see what the pokédex has to say about it," He said as he flipped open his pokémon encyclopedia:

" _Numel, the numb pokémon. Fire and ground type. A numel stores boiling magma in the hump on its back. It is a hardy pokémon that can transport a 220-pound load. It has served humans at work since long ago_."

"Interesting. I wonder what moves it can learn…" Niko said, scrolling through the entry with his free left hand. "So, this particular one seems to know tackle, growl, ember, and magnitude…what's magnitude?"

"It's kind of like earthquake!" Jake explained, much to Niko's surprise. "Only weaker. The power of magnitude is always random. Sometimes, it can be really weak, like only a small shake in the ground. At its best, it's actually stronger than earthquake!"

"Huh…where'd you learn that?"

"School. I read the textbook," Jake answered proudly, eliciting a facepalm from his older brother, who clearly hadn't.

"Well, alright. I'm gonna head off to bed now, and try to feel a little better about all of this," Niko said as he got up and walked over to his sleeping bag, returning numel as he did so.

* * *

 **Author's note: Yeah, short episode, I know. There wasn't much else to include besides Niko catching numel and realizing the difficulties that he might face ahead with it. I plan to expand more on this in the next episode and more ones after. Let's just say Niko won't have an easy time training his first ever fire type.**


	22. Ninjas and soot!

**Episode 22: Ninjas and soot**

During the days following Niko's bizarre capture of numel in the fiery path, the group continued northward until they were met with a mountain range preventing their progress. Upon checking the pokénav, JJ directed them westward on Route 113. A couple more days and they would end up in Fallarbor Town. However, the journey was by no means an easy one: ash was covering the ground, making it not only difficult to see, but also the walk and occasionally breathe.

During this time, Niko tried not to train as much since he didn't want his pokémon to have too much difficulty in the unfamiliar environment. The group spent most of their resting time under trees, where the soot wouldn't get all over them.

"So this is all coming from Mt. Chimney?" Niko asked, looking up through the branches above him.

"Looks like it," JJ replied, dusting off azurill, whose head was covered in soot. Brittany was doing the same with pichu, although the tiny mouse pokémon wasn't being very cooperative.

"Niko, have you made much progress with numel? I see it out of its pokéball while you're training," Brittany asked as she struggled to hold pichu still.

"Not much. It just doesn't want to listen to me. It's like croconaw back in Johto..."

"But you actually did something wrong then," JJ said, correcting his friend. "Here, all you did was capture it. What could it possibly be so upset about?"

Niko didn't answer immediately, as he didn't have one to begin with. He figured training a fire type would be difficult for him the first time, since he's had no experience with a wild one, but why was it _this_ difficult? All of his friends trained theirs essentially from babies, so how would they know the difference—if one exists at all—between a wild fire type and one raised from an egg? He wished that he could find an incentive—any, at all—to get numel to even acknowledge his existence. _Maybe JJ is right…maybe I should just release it. No, no I shouldn't. That'd be cowardly. I can't give up on numel, not yet._

"I have no idea dude," Niko finally replied. "I want to understand it, I really do, but I just can't. I need some sort of incentive to get to listen to me. But what?"

No one seemed to have an answer, and thus the group stayed silent for most of the rest of the day. Brittany and JJ spent time bouncing ideas off of each other for their next contest. The brunette wanted to continue with torchic's attract/ember combo, since she couldn't think of any of moves her other pokémon would know. JJ suggested that she search the pokédex for moves her tangela and pichu are capable of learning, and try to come up with something that way.

JJ, on the other hand, was hoping to use growlithe for this one. The ideas he came up with involved manipulating ember and running through them with flame wheel, but they didn't really seem to interest his friends.

* * *

The following morning, the group continued their journey westward. They were only half an hour into their walking when something popped out of the ground from under Niko's foot.

"What the hell!?" Niko shouted as a little boy in a ninja costume popped out of a small mound of soot underneath him. "Who-who are you?"

"I am Lung! I am here to fight you!" Lung shouted, leaping into the air and landing gracefully in front of Niko, balancing himself on one foot and spreading his arms out left and right. "You set off my trap."

Niko, looking more confused than ever, struggled to the find the words to express himself. "I'm so confused, dude. You want me to fight you because I set off your trap?"

"Yes."

"Uh…okay then. Sure, Lung, I challenge you to a pokémon battle!"

"Excellent. It will be two-on-two. Ninjask, I choose you!" Lung shouted, summoning a small cicada-like pokémon with four white and red wings. It had a mask that resembled a ninja's mask, and it floated only a few feet in the air.

"Ninjask, huh? Alright then, taillow, let's go!" Niko shouted as Jake, Brittany, and JJ pulled up ninjask's data in their pokédex:

" _Ninjask, the ninja pokémon. Bug and flying type. Because it darts about vigorously at high speed, it is very difficult to see. Hearing its distinctive cries for too long induces a headache_."

"Taillow, use wing attack!" Niko commanded.

"Ninjask, double team!" Lung commanded. The ninja pokémon multiplied itself several times as taillow shot through each of them with its glowing wings. However, none of the copies seemed to be the real one. "Ninjask, fury cutter!"

Ninjask shot from above taillow and slammed its claw into taillow's back, rocketing the swallow pokémon into the ground. Taillow quickly got back up and used quick attack to hit ninjask, but the ninja pokémon dodged it. Ninjask continued to use fury cutter on taillow, each time seemingly getting faster. It was difficult for Niko to keep up.

"Taillow, use double team!" Niko shouted. Taillow, who had hardly been able to create more than one illusion of itself, struggled to use the attack, since ninjask slapped it across the face with blinding speed, causing taillow to rocket down to the ground.

"Ninjask, finish it off with aerial ace!" Lung commanded. Taillow had no time to evade—ninjask's claw began to glow bright white as it slashed at the swallow, quickly defeating it.

"What the…" Niko said in shock. He had never seen a pokémon as fast as ninjask was. Returning taillow, he considered what to use next. Treecko? Electrike? Aron? Maybe aron, but it couldn't use mud slap, and headbutt was simply out of the question. All it would do is defend, but how long could it last? Hesitating, Niko sent out his least popular voice. "Numel, let's go!"

The numb pokémon came out of the pokéball to look at its surroundings before realizing it was in a battle. Turning to Niko—and finally recognizing it for the first time in days—numel just collapsed onto the ground and began to sleep.

"Really, that's what you're using?" Lung asked in honest surprise. "You have nothing else? Nothing at all?"

"Nothing that has even a remote chance of beating that thing, no," Niko answered honestly. "Numel, come on…can you get up and fight?"

Numel did nothing.

"Alright then…" Lung sighed, "Ninjask, use aerial ace!"

The ninja pokémon dove down at numel, again with blinding speed, and slashed at the hump on the fire type's back. For some reason, this triggered numel to get up, and it wasn't very happy then. The numb pokémon beamed angrily at ninjask, and began firing a series of embers at the bug type, who dodged each one.

"Yeah numel!" Niko cheered. "Let's do this! Use ember!"

Instead, numel growled loudly and then repeated its barrage of thick embers, none of which hit ninjask as it kept dodged each one. By this point, it was fast enough to disappear completely for several seconds at a time.

"Ninjask, let's finish this off! Use aerial ace!" Lung commanded. The ninja pokémon dove down, but numel was ready for it. The moment ninjask made contact with numel, the numb pokémon shook the earth underneath it violently, knocking ninjask to the ground. Undamaged, but clearly affected by the magnitude attack, ninjask tried to get back up but found its right claw now in numel's mouth. Numel finally launched a series of embers from inside its body at ninjask's trapped claw, lighting the bug type on fire and soundly defeating it.

"Woah…" Niko said in awe. _Numel's actually really strong_ , he thought to himself. Lung returned ninjask, also in shock that this super-fast pokémon was so easily beaten by a pokémon like numel.

"Hmm…alright then," Lung said, pulling out a second pokéball. "Let's see how your numel deals with this one! Shedinja, I choose you!"

The pokémon that appeared out of Lung's pokéball came out floating in the air, and unmoving. It was a bronze pokémon with a gray underbelly, a set of rigid wings on its back, and a white, broken halo hovering above its head. It had no eyes—just slits where its eyes should have been. Unnerved by this, Niko pulled out his pokédex to observed it:

" _Shedinja, the shed pokémon. Bug and ghost type. A peculiar pokémon that floats in the air even though its wings remain completely still. The inside of its body is hollow and utterly dark_."

"Shedinja, use confuse ray!" Lung commanded. The shed pokémon's hollowed eyes began to glow a dark pink color as numel, who was about to fall back asleep, looked up at its opponent and was hit with the ray. Out of confusion, numel looked around and began spitting embers all around it, regardless of its target. Niko turned to his friend to make sure they were okay before cowering behind a tree until the embers stopped and numel instead began running around aimlessly. Lung, on the other hand, commanded shedinja to use shadow ball on its opponent. The ghost type obeyed, conjuring shadow balls all around it and releasing them wherever numel might go. Each one managed to hit the numb pokémon, and it eventually collapsed, defeated by its own confusion.

Niko returned numel after coming out from behind a soot-covered tree while Lung returned shedinja. After a few moments of silence, Niko finally spoke.

"Thanks for the battle, Lung. I learned a bit about two new pokémon, even if I have no idea how to beat them."

"No worries, man. Ninjask is fast and shedinja has Wonder Guard."

"Wonder Guard? What's that?"

"Only super effective attacks can hurt it. That is, only attacks that shedinja is weak to, like fire, actually."

"Wait…" Niko said, trying to understand his opponent. "You're saying that I could have beaten shedinja is numel actually landed an attack?"

"Exactly."

"You've gotta be kidding me…" Niko said, sighing. He then turned to his friends, all of whom were shrugging, indicating they had no idea either. "Well, ya got me there. I can't beat that shedinja then."

"Your taillow could have," Lung stated plainly.

"That's true," Niko sighed. Just when he thought numel might listen it was all for nothing. "Anyways, thanks again for the battle. I appreciated it."

"No problem, see ya around," Lung said in a rather plain tone as he ran off, arms dangling behind him, towards some tree.

* * *

"Gah!" Niko said angrily. "Will I ever figure out numel's problem?"

"Don't let it get to you, Niko," Brittany said, lightly touching his shoulder, which didn't seem to calm him down. "You'll figure it out, I believe you will."

"Hopefully…" Niko said dejectedly. It had been a day since his battle with Lung, and Niko had been hung up about it constantly since. As they continued to talk, Jake started to see a house off in the distance. Pointing to it, he caught the attention of the rest of the group, who all noticed it too.

"Wonder what's over there!" Jake said eagerly before breaking into a run.

"No, Jake!" Niko shouted out, following him. "You can't just go to every house you see and wonder what's inside!"

The group made it to the house and, upon knocking on the front door, under an awning, an elderly man came to answer. "Oh, hello there kids. What can I do for ye?"

"Sorry to interrupt you, sir," Niko said, pulling away Jake, "my brother here wanted to see this house for whatever reason."

"Oh, it's not a problem. Come on in, the ash is getting heavy outside. Come on, now," He said in a kind voice, making way for the soot-covered trainers to enter. They dusted off their clothes while the man made some tea. Sitting across from them on some couches, he beamed at them. "Travelers, I take it?"

"Yeah, we're from Kanto. My name is Niko, this is Jake, my brother. And that's JJ, and Brittany."

"Oh, interesting. My name is Mr. Soot. I run the Glass Workshop here."

"What do you do here?" Brittany asked before sipping her tea.

"Oh, why I make glass objects out of the soot we collect. Mostly flutes, but we also make other things, like bowls, plates, cups. Would you like to make some?"

"Oh, uh, sure?" Niko asked, turning to his friends, all of whom seemed to be fine with the idea. "Yeah, I'm game. What do we need?"

"Oh, not much. Maybe a pokémon to help you out. Preferably a fire type. Helps making the glass easier."

This is not exactly what Niko wanted to hear. If a fire type made it easier, then why wouldn't he use numel? The whole group agreed to this, with Jake teaming up with JJ and his growlithe, since the younger kid didn't have a fire type of his own. They then walked out into the field and began collecting soot with their pokémon. Brittany and torchic seemed to be enjoying the alone time (pichu and azurill stayed inside, since they didn't like the feel and smell of the soot). JJ, Jake, and growlithe seemed to be having a blast, with growlithe jumping and rolling around in it, which didn't seem to please JJ that much.

Meanwhile, Niko and numel weren't having it easy. Niko spent a lot of the time collecting soot in the bag he was given while numel was sleeping under the awning of the workshop. He sighed—it's not like he expected numel to help out much, but at least showing _some_ interest or effort would be enough.

Eventually, everyone filled their bags with soot and proceeded back to the house, where Mr. Soot had four tables ready for them. He then went through a careful and detailed explanation of how to make flutes, using JJ's growlithe as his assistant. Eventually, he made a small, blue flute using some of his own soot.

The four trainers then went about making their own, with growlithe helping both JJ and Jake with theirs, as it was the most experienced fire type amongst them. Brittany and torchic ended up making a glass cup with theirs, albeit with some difficulty in designing the handle (Mr. Soot helped them out in this regard). JJ worked on a flute of his own, this time being a green one. And Jake made a small bowl out of his.

Niko, on the other hand, was struggling. He wanted to make a black badge case. He already had one, but this would essentially go over his current one. He talked with Mr. Soot about it and he agreed to help design the hinges for it, based on the design of Niko's current Hoenn badge case. However, numel wasn't helping at all. It refused to even look at Niko. Eventually, the brown-haired trainer had enough.

"Okay, listen here, numel!" Niko said, raising his voice. Numel still didn't look up, preferring to continue sleeping. "I've given you the benefit of the doubt, over and over again, yet you STILL refuse to even look at me! Look, I'm really sorry Jake ran over you last week. I'm really sorry we upset you. But that is no reason to go around ignoring everyone! Especially your own trainer, who only wants the best for you!

"If you don't want to be around here, that's freaking fine! I don't care anymore! I've had it with you! You can leave if that makes you happy. If that's what you want! But if you stay, I promise to help you out in every way I can. To make you the best goddamn numel there is. I want to be a pokémon master one day, and I would love it if you joined me. But, if you don't want to, I will not make you."

Niko began breathing heavily after finishing his rant. He didn't like getting agitated like this, as he felt light-headed after. The whole room was silent as they watched the stare down between Niko and numel. After nearly a minute, Niko began getting back to work on his badge case. As he was about to ask JJ if he could borrow growlithe, he felt something lightly banging against his jeans.

It was numel. It looked up at Niko, and for a moment their eyes locked, and Niko felt like he was communicating with the fire type. Numel moved its head in a way that indicated its trainer should move the soot onto the ground, since it was only a couple feet tall.

Niko grabbed the soot, bagged it up again, and sat down on the floor in front of numel. He laid out the soot again and began the process that Mr. Soot had taught him. When he needed assistance, numel would lightly breath fire on it, just as Niko asked. Half an hour later, the badge case was finished, and Niko placed it over his current one, giving it a new glossy look.

"Well kids, it was wonderful having you all!" Mr. Soot said eagerly. "Feel free to stop on by again if you want to make some more!"

"Thanks, Mr. Soot. I appreciate it. Really, I do," Niko said, feeling more grateful than the old man could imagine. He finally connected with his pokémon, and that was worth more than just about anything in that moment. He knew, obviously, that it wouldn't be easy moving forward, but he was taking a step in the right direction, and that's all that mattered to him.


	23. Sweet scents and songs!

**Episode 23: Sweet scents and songs!**

Fallarbor Town was a quaint little place, wedged in between the northern end of Mt. Chimney and the mountains that formed the northern edge of the Hoenn region. Like Route 113, it was covered in ash, albeit not as much as the route, though, as the townspeople liked to keep the roads, houses, and other buildings clean. It was also a farm town, and so the people made a serious effort to keep soot from gathering, even so much as putting umbrellas over the crops and planting lamps under them to allow them to grow.

Niko and his friends arrived in Fallarbor Town on the day of the pokémon contest there, where JJ and Brittany would be competing. They had spent the past two days since visiting Mr. Soot's house working on new performance routines. They had also agreed to give it everything they had should Madeleine appear at the contest, since both of them—particularly Brittany—wanted revenge.

"How do you two feel?" Niko asked as they approached the contest hall.

"Pretty good, actually," Brittany stated joyfully. Despite the soot falling from the sky, she seemed to be rather optimistic. Her contests hadn't gone that well thus far, yet she still felt chipper. It was nice to see, Niko thought. JJ, on the other hand, didn't seem to show much emotion with regards to the contest.

"I think it'll be alright," He said plainly.

"Everything alright bud?" Niko asked.

"Oh, yeah everything's fine! I-I just don't uh what to expect, y'know?"

Niko nodded as they finally reached the contest hall. He opened the door, allowing his friends to go in and register while he and Jake walked to the stands and seat themselves before the contest began.

"Did you see Madeleine at all?" Niko asked, turning to his brother.

"Nope! No sign of her yet! Do you think she's just somewhere else?"

"Hope so. She's hard to beat, especially for Brittany. JJ and umbreon could give her gorebyss a run for its money, though."

While they were talking, JJ and Brittany were in the backroom waiting for the contest to begin. Brittany was sitting down on a bench, trying to calm herself down while JJ was pacing back and forth, trying to not look panicked. Eventually, the brunette stood up, grabbed JJ by the shoulder, and sat him down next to her.

"You're making me nervous, too," She said bluntly, which seemed to quiet JJ down.

"Sorry. Just nervous too. These are a lot of fun, but what am I doing? Do I even belong in these?"

"Of course you do, JJ," Brittany said, trying to reassure her friend. "That's how I felt after the Slateport contest. These aren't easy at all, but they're worth trying at, I think. It's like gyms, or breeding."

"I guess so. I hope you do well, today."

Brittany laughed softly, blushing a little. "Thanks, I hope you do well, too."

* * *

"Hello everyone! Welcome to the Fallarbor Town Pokémon Contest! I am Vivian Meridian, and I will be your host for today's event. Now, for those unfamiliar with contests, I will run through them with you. There are two stages: The Performance and Battle Stages. In the Performance Stage, coordinators will show off the moves their pokémon know, and in the Battle Stage, they will show their moves in a battle—with style, of course!

"Now, let me also introduce our three judges: Fallarbor Town's very own Nurse Joy! Mr. Contesta, and Mr. Sukizo. They will rate the performances of each coordinator's style performance, and judge the battle only in the event of a tie or when one trainer's pokémon faints. And so, without further ado, let's bring out the first coordinator today! JJ from Pallet Town in Kanto!

JJ walked up onto the stage to see a smaller crowd than usual. _Probably because Fallarbor Town is so much smaller than Slateport or Verdanturf_ he thought to himself. _Alright JJ, don't screw up. You can do this_. "Growlithe, let's go!" JJ said, summoning his long-time puppy pokémon onto the field. "Let's start off with ember! All around in a circle, just like we practiced!"

Growlithe spun around slowly, spitting small fireballs from its mouth as it did so. JJ then commanded it to use flame wheel, and to run on the inside of the circle. The fire type began gaining enough speed to generate a tailwind of fire behind it, creating a smaller, concentric circle within the ember-made one. JJ nervously looked around, smiling as he did so, scanning the crowd to see their expressions. For the most part they seemed neutral, with a couple cheering and some yawning from boredom. He then looked to the judges, who were already writing down their scores.

JJ then commanded growlithe to stop before returning it and bowing to the crowd. He proceeded to walk over to the backroom while Vivian announced the next competitor, some guy from Lavaridge Town with a swablu.

"How do you think I did?" JJ asked, a little dejectedly, as he sat down next to Brittany.

"Honestly?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Honestly."

"I think you did okay. You've definitely had better performances. But it's okay, there's only seven coordinators here. You should be fine I think."

"But that means three will get cut, right?" Brittany nodded. For the Battle Stage, there needed to be either 2, 4, 8, or 16 people for a tournament. That's how the judges determined how many they would request to cut after the Performance Round. "Well, hopefully I'm one of the four that makes it."

"I'm sure you will be. Oh, look, I'm up now!" Brittany said as she got up and walked over to the stage.

"And here we have her, folks! Our fifth contestant, Brittany from Vermilion City in Kanto!" Vivian shouted as Brittany walked onto the stage.

"Torchic, you're up!" Brittany commanded, summoning her chick pokémon. "Use attract!" As torchic was emitting pink hearts of various sizes, Brittany then commanded it to use ember to light the hearts, like in her previous contest in Verdanturf. However, she added another step. "Torchic, use scratch on the hearts, just like we practiced!"

Torchic then leapt into action, somersaulting and flipping through the air, popping each flaming heart with either its beak, talons, or wings, releasing a small shower of embers in its wake. The crowd looked pleased at this upgraded performance, particularly Vivian, who had obviously seen the one in Verdanturf.

"Wonderful, Brittany! Is that all?" Brittany nodded. "Excellent, you may leave now. Next up, we have Violet from Petalburg City!" Brittany walked into the backroom to see JJ sitting there, smiling at her.

"You did great!" JJ said as his friend sat down.

"Thanks," Brittany said, clearly looking pleased with herself. "I think we'll go far in this one this time."

"You think so?"

"I know so," Brittany said. They continued to make small talk until Vivian announced the final four coordinators. Brittany had made it, as did Violet, the guy with the swablu, and another person from Dewford Town. JJ, realizing he didn't make it, got up and slowly walked away. "JJ, wait!" Brittany said, but it was obvious that he didn't want to talk to her, or really anyone, at that moment.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen! Let's continue with the Battle Stage! Here, we have Brittany up against Clint!"

"Swablu, let's go!" Clint shouted, summoning his blue bird pokémon with cloud-like wings. Brittany sent out torchic, and immediately used attract. "Use fury swipes!"

Swablu dodged through each of the pink hearts gracefully, but wasn't prepared to deal with an onslaught of ember attacks from torchic, knocking the cotton bird pokémon to the ground.

"Torchic, use scratch!" Brittany shouted. The chick pokémon rushed at swablu, ready to slash at it, when the flying type slapped torchic at the legs with its puffy wings, knocking it over. Clint commanded swablu to then use sing. The beautiful tones emitting from the cotton bird's mouth were enough to put the entire crowd to sleep, but it kept it relatively quiet, so as to only put torchic to sleep.

And it succeeded. Torchic collapsed onto the ground, sound asleep. Clint asked it to use mist, which created a thin fog around the stage, shrouding the battle in mystery. This decreased Brittany's bar significantly. Trying not to panic, Brittany kept yelling for torchic to wake up, saying whatever she could think of. Meanwhile, swablu was singing wildly, further decreasing Brittany's bar.

"TORCHIC WAKE UP!" Brittany shouted, louder than she ever had before. The chick pokémon awoke with a start, blinking rapidly as it scanned the area around it. It looked up at Brittany, and its face contorted to one with more determination. "That's right—let's win this thing. Torchic, use attract! Then ember!"

Torchic repeated its performance move, sending pink hearts towards swablu and lighting them on fire. Once again, swablu tried to dodge through them, but torchic fired embers at it to send it into a panic, causing it to collide with the flaming hearts and lose its gracefulness.

"Now, use scratch!" Brittany commanded, and torchic leapt into action, leaping around and swiping at the hearts while trying to hit swablu in the process. The cotton bird pokémon retaliated with a fury attack, and the two began exchanging blows, lowering each trainer's bar until there was only a minute left and both bars were about to disappear. The next move would determine everything.

"Swablu, peck!"

"Torchic, ember!"

This is where Clint made his mistake—swablu dove at its opponent, its beak glowing. However, it underestimated torchic's ability to spit embers. Swablu quickly found itself on fire. The cotton bird crashed into the ground as what little that remained of Clint's bar disappeared.

"Swablu is unable to battle!" Vivian shouted. "Torchic is the winner, and Brittany will move on to the second and final round of the Battle Stage!"

Brittany got down on her knees and hugged torchic, picking it up and walking with it to the backroom, where Violet and her challenger were waiting to be called out.

"Torchic, one more battle and we could win the whole thing!" Brittany said excitedly. Torchic chirped happily as they sat down and watched the match together, knowing that they'd have to compete against one of them.

Minutes later, Violet ended up winning with her illumise. Unfamiliar with the pokémon, Brittany pulled out her pokédex to get a better look at it:

" _Illumise, the firefly pokémon. Bug type. A nocturnal pokémon that becomes active upon nightfall. It leads a volbeat swarm to draw patterns in the night sky. Over 200 different patterns have been confirmed_."

"We can do this, torchic. You have the advantage, so all we have to do is make it look pretty!"

"Aaand now we have our final coordinators for the Battle Stage!" Vivian announced. "The winner of this battle will earn the Fallarbor Town Contest Ribbon! On your left, we have Brittany from Vermilion City! And on your right, Violet from Petalburg City!"

"Illumise, let's go!" Violet shouted, summoning her firefly pokémon.

Brittany looked down at torchic. "Ready?" Torchic nodded. "Excellent, let's go! Use attract and ember!"

"Illumise, use sweet scent!" Violet commanded. However, it was no match for torchic, whose flaming hearts were able to hit, despite torchic finding itself entranced in the remarkable odor emitting from illumise. "Now, use quick attack!"

"Torchic, ember at the floor!"

"Fly into the air!"

"Use ember directly at illumise!" Brittany shouted. Torchic lit the floor of the stage on fire while aiming upwards at its opponent, who was upon the chick pokémon in a matter of seconds. At this point, Brittany's bar was slightly higher than Violet's, but that certainly changed when illumise took a massive hit to the stomach from a close-range ember. Torchic then followed up with a scratch.

"Illumise, moonlight!" Violet commanded. Using the power of the moon, illumise began to glow a bright white color, and while it didn't replenish the yellow bar next to Violet's picture, it did heal her pokémon, and lowered Brittany's a little, too.

"Alright then, let's finish this. Torchic, use ember and attract again! And follow up with scratch!" Brittany shouted, throwing her hand out in a gesture. Torchic launched forward as illumise rushed using quick attack, trying to dodge the flaming hearts, but failing every so often. Torchic and illumise collided, switching places on the stage. For a few moments, the battle hung in the balance before the firefly pokémon collapsed in defeat.

"Illumise is unable to battle, therefore torchic and Brittany are the winners of the Fallarbor Contest!" Vivian shouted to the crowd, which erupted in applause, particularly from Niko, Jake, and JJ.

"Torchic! We did it! We did it!" Brittany shouted as the chick pokémon turned around and ran to its trainer, leaping into her arms. The two embraced for a long couple of seconds until Violet and Vivian were upon them. Brittany's opponent congratulated her on the win, and Vivian awarded her the ribbon.

"Congrats on your first contest win, Brittany," Vivian said, "I've watched three of your contests so far and, if I must say, you're definitely improving as a coordinator. Here, your first of three ribbons."

"First of three?" Brittany asked curiously.

"Yes, you need three to enter the Grand Festival held at the beginning of spring next year. It used to be five, but the Board lowered it to three only recently. Allows us to have more coordinators participate, but our judging has gotten slightly stricter as a result. Regardless, congrats."

Brittany was met with another applause from her friends, all of whom ecstatic about her win. Niko even brought her in for a hug, which came as a surprise to the brunette.

"Now, off to Lavaridge Town for _your_ next win!" She said as they broke away.

"Yeah, let's go for it!" Niko said, lightly tapping her on the shoulder as they walked back to the pokémon center.

"Oh, hey guys," JJ said, interrupting their conversation. "We should go and visit Meteor Falls. I've heard it's a really beautiful place. Like, one of the major attractions of the Hoenn region. Wanna check it out?"

"Sure, why not?" Niko replied, feeling in good spirits. "How far away is it?"

"Only a day's journey, but by the way its regarded in the pokénav, it must be worth it."

"That's totally fine with me, gives me some more time to train before the Lavaridge gym!" Niko said as they entered the pokémon center.


	24. Showdown at Meteor Falls

**Episode 24: Showdown at Meteor Falls**

After Brittany's win at the Fallarbor Town pokémon contest, the group decided to journey to Meteor Falls, which JJ suggested was a "must-see" in the Hoenn region. Located on the region's northwestern edge, Meteor Falls is said to have been the site of a meteor shower. There are also rumors that an ancient people once made their home there.

During their journey down Route 114, which leads directly to the falls, the group spent some time training their pokémon. Niko wanted to make sure his team was ready to fight the Lavaridge Town gym leader, who is a fire type user. Specifically, he wanted aron to learn dig. Knowing that numel was still lukewarm to him, Niko figured his iron armor pokémon would be his "ace" once again. On the other hand, electrike was working on learning spark, and nearly perfected it, while taillow continued practicing double team, and also getting better. Treecko was improving its absorb and bullet seed. Lastly, Niko spent some time working with numel, trying to get it to work on the release of its ember attack. On normal occasions, numel was a rather slow pokémon, with its fight against ninjask being an exception. So Niko spent time working on how to improve its release, which in principle wasn't that difficult. The difficulty lay in getting numel to listen half the time.

Meanwhile, JJ and Brittany worked on searching for and teaching new moves to their teams, for future contests. JJ was trying to teach growlithe roar, which didn't seem to be much work in hindsight. He also wanted to start training his azurill for any future contests. Having raised the polka dot pokémon for some time, he figured now would be a fine enough time to start training it in actual battle, and thus worked on teaching it a simple water-type move, bubble. Brittany, on the other hand, worked with torchic on fire spin, which seemed harder than it actually was, and tangela on mega drain and poisonpowder, for the same reasons as JJ's azurill. Plus, if tangela knew more moves it might be able to compete in a pokémon contest in the future, which both Brittany and the vine pokémon seemed to look forward to.

The group spent a fair amount of their day training, and less on walking, enough that they barely made it to Meteor Falls by nightfall after spending an entire day on Route 114. Walking up to the entrance of the falls, they saw a sky that was nearly clean of light pollution. Wanting to watch the clear night sky, Niko walked over to a nearby rock, overlooking a rather large crater, and sat down, summoning his full team of pokémon to watch as well.

"Look at the sky, you guys. Isn't it wonderful?" All of the pokémon—even numel—sat in awe at the night sky. Treecko pointed up to a shooting star, which attracted the attention of the whole team. "Yeah, check that out!" Niko said in surprise. "I wonder what it is, or where it's going…"

"That's a comet, Niko," JJ said in a matter-of-fact tone as he sat down on a nearby rock. Brittany and Jake also sat down, sending out their full teams as well to watch.

"This is beautiful, thanks for telling us about this, JJ," Brittany said, holding pichu and showing it all of the stars in the sky.

"Yeah, heh…no problem," JJ said as he did the same with azurill.

"It just makes you think," Niko began, "about what might be out there, y'know?"

"Do space pokémon exist?" Jake asked as he held mudkip and seedot in his lap.

"Don't know, buddy. They might," Niko said, smiling at his brother as he gave his best answer. Jake has always been interested in outer space, and even said that he wanted to be an astronaut one day and discover new planets. So seeing this, and going to Meteor Falls, must have been the highlight of his journey in Hoenn thus far, which made Niko particularly happy, and proud of being Jake's brother.

Just as the group was getting ready to head to bed an hour after stargazing, they heard a loud noise coming from inside the caverns. Niko perked up as he turned his gaze to the cave entrance, where the noise was coming from. He then turned to JJ and Brittany, both of whom were also transfixed on the noise.

"You heard that, right?" They nodded. "Hmm…should we check it out?"

"Dunno Niko, what do you think?" Brittany said as she motioned to pack her things back up, which gave Niko all of the reason to make his decision.

"Yeah, let's check it out. JJ, can you watch Jake while Brittany and I see what's going on?"

"I heard that, Niko!" Jake shouted back. "Why can't I come?"

"Because it might be dangerous. We don't know what made that noise."

"It sounded kind of like people. A lot of people," Jake replied. "I can handle people, Niko. And if they're bad, I've got mudkip and seedot."

Niko sighed. "Fine. JJ, Jake, come on. Let's go."

The four trainers creeped up to the cave's entrance. Peeking in, they saw a flashing light and some shadows. Niko turned to his friends, nodded, and continued walking down the tunnel, pokéball at the ready. Once they made it to the end of the tunnel, they saw a group of people in red and black outfits crowded around something. Each person had pokéballs at the ready.

"Team Magma…?" Brittany whispered in shock. "What are they doing here?"

As soon as she said that, another team, this time in blue with black and white-striped pants showed up, attracting the attention of Team Magma. The group was now close enough to hear the two teams talking.

"What do you want, Aqua? We got here first!" A magma grunt shouted out.

"Oh please, just getting here first means nothing. You should know that, magma scum."

"You _do_ know why we're here, right?" Another magma grunt piped in.

"Well, we probably have an idea, but it doesn't matter. We're here to capture the last remaining member of the Draconids. They'll be, well, useful to our end goal."

"Oh, well then we must be here for the same reason, then," A magma grunt shouted at her Aqua counterpart, sneering. "But we got here first, and we'll take Grandma Draconid wherever we please!"

"Oh my god…" Brittany said, facepalming. "They're _so bad_ at banter. _So bad_!"

"No kidding…should we stop them?" Niko asked.

"There's too many of them, Niko, we couldn't take them even if we wanted to," Brittany replied with a worried tone. "We should probably leave, actually."

"But they've clearly looking to steal someone, right? Shouldn't we try and help out?" Niko asked. Brittany continued to plead her point, with JJ and even Jake joining in on her side.

It didn't seem to matter which side they chose, because an Aqua grunt noticed them. She shot out her hand and pointed in their direction, yelling "those kids have been eavesdropping on us!"

The two teams turned to see the now-revealed trainers, all of whom had pokéballs at the ready, but it was JJ who had his hands up nonetheless.

"Look, we mean no harm, we're just visiting and heard a noise, that's all!" JJ said.

"You're not innocent, kid!" A male magma grunt spat out. The two teams then pulled out pokéballs as well, ready for a fight to break out. "Numel, let's go!"

"Poochyena!"

"Carvanha!"

"Zubat!"

Suddenly a fight was breaking loose between the four trainers and the two teams, who evidently also began fighting each other. Niko and his electrike, taillow, and treecko did combat against a trio of magma grunts; Jake and JJ and their pokémon fought against Team Aqua grunts; Brittany tried to evade the fighting and discover what exactly they were fighting over. As she side-stepped the three-way battle, she discovered an elderly woman standing against a wall.

"Hello?" Brittany asked the unflinching woman, who turned to her with relative ease. "Hi…my name is Brittany, I mean no harm…"

"Oh, I know you don't, dear. You're not one of them…" She said, pointing to the grunts.

"Hey!" A magma grunt shouted. "She's ours!" He said as he ran to intercept Brittany, but was met by an aqua grunt who shoved him away, grabbing the elderly woman by the arm and carrying her off. "No you won't! Poochyena, use bite!"

"Carvanha, water gun!" The aqua grunt shouted. It was here that Brittany's pichu leapt into the air and used thundershock, halting both of the pokémon in place while Brittany tried to help the old lady.

"What are you doing with her!?" Brittany demanded as she ran for the aqua grunt, pichu now on her shoulder, ready to attack again.

"We need her, little girl!"

"Need her for what!?"

"She will help us summon the legendary pokémon," A deep voice said as a thick, muscular hand stopped Brittany in her tracks. She looked up to see an unnaturally large man with bulging muscles and no shirt on standing in her way. He had the Team Aqua logo tattooed in white across his chest, and had a golden necklace and navy-blue gloves. "I will not let you stop us. Leave now and we won't hurt you."

"That's what you said last time, Matt," A familiarly emotionless voice said as Courtney of Team Magma showed up behind the grunt that originally went after Brittany. "But it clearly didn't go so well, now did it?"

"Ah, Courtney. Always a pleasure. How's Maxie doing?"

"About as good as Archie, I'd say," Courtney stated with a wink.

"How dare you speak his name! He was like—"

"Like a brother to you, yeah I've heard it before. Now, please hand over the woman, and no one will get hurt."

"Like hell I will!" Matt spat back.

"Then hell is what you'll receive. Camerupt, I choose you!" Courtney commanded plainly, summoning a large orange pokémon with two small, gray volcanoes on its back. "Eruption!"

The camerupt's volcanoes then began to glow a bright red as it released streams of magma towards Team Aqua, scattering everyone in its wake. In the panic, the elderly woman was able to get out of the grunt's clutches and began running towards the cave entrance, where she was blocked by a pair of magma grunts.

"Niko!" Brittany shouted across the small river of magma separating her from her friends. "Stop them!"

Niko nodded as he, JJ, and Jake all turned to the pair of magma grunts now grabbing the woman. The three boys were then surrounded by more magma grunts, all of whom were ready in attack position with their own pokémon.

"Taillow, wing attack! Treecko, bullet seed! Electrike, spark!" Niko shouted as his three pokémon all began to attack at the same time.

JJ and Jake shouted commands as well. However, one of the attacks on Magma's side missed its target and was aimed towards Jake. The ember from the numel was about to hit the small boy when JJ's azurill bounced through the air, glowing as it did so, and intercepted the attack, collapsing onto the ground as a completely new pokémon.

"Azurill!" JJ shouted as he ran through the field of attacks towards his azurill, which was now a blue ball with a mouse ears and a zig-zag tail with a smaller blue ball on its end. "I mean—marill?" He pulled out his pokédex to confirm that it was indeed a marill.

Suddenly, there was a loud shout and a bright light emanating from the other end of the cavern.

"Team Magma, roll out!" Courtney shouted, returning her pokémon and taking hold of Brittany's arm. Two grunts then assisted her, pulling the brunette around the magma stream created by camerupt and rushing out of the entrance they had just come in.

"Niko! JJ!" Brittany shouted before being knocked out by a male grunt.

"Brittany!" Niko cried out, anger coursing through him. "You bring her back! Electrike, use spark!"

"Camerupt, block the attack," Courtney said lazily as her pokémon took the electric attack and shook the ground, knocking the three trainers off of their feet and giving Team Magma more time.

"Brittany…" Niko said dejectedly, his hands and knees on the ground. He then made a fist and slammed it on the floor. "Dammit! Why!?"

"We'll get her back, Niko, don't worry," JJ said, reassuring his friend. "Looks like they took that old lady, too."

"Why did they need her, JJ?" Jake asked.

"Because she is the last remaining member of the Draconid people," A voice stated bluntly from behind them. "At least, besides me."

Niko, JJ, and Jake all turned to see a short woman in a black shirt, long white sock, gray short shorts, and a seemingly torn-up cape. She had black eyes and short black hair to match.

"And who're you?" Niko asked, finally standing back up alongside JJ and Jake.

"I'm Zinnia. And Team Magma just took my grandmother."


	25. The rescue mission

**Episode 25: The rescue mission**

"What does Team Magma want with your grandmother?" Niko asked.

"Because she is one of the last remaining Draconids."

"Okay, we get that, but who exactly _are_ the Draconids?" JJ asked, rather impatiently.

"The Draconids were once a tribe of dragon-type trainers that lived here in Meteor Falls. It was also here that the legendary pokémon Groudon and Kyogre fought, but were stopped by Rayquaza, another legendary pokémon. After the battle, Groudon and Kyogre returned to the depths of the land and sea, respectively, while Rayquaza returned to the skies. The Draconids built the Sky Pillar in the south of Hoenn, near Pacifidlog Town, where they can easily summon Rayquaza. The Draconids painted a mural in the Sky Pillar which foretold that after a thousand years a meteor would strike once again, and planned to call Rayquaza to prevent it from striking. Essentially, our goal is to summon Rayquaza to help us."

"Still, why do they want your grandmother?" JJ asked.

"I don't know for sure, but likely for her information and her ability to help summon Rayquaza. Are any of you familiar with the last incident with the super-ancient pokémon?" The three boys shook their heads. "Ah, not from here then, I take it. Well, Team Aqua and Magma awoke Groudon and Kyogre once again, and the two fought for some time. Long story short, the battle ended quickly, and the super-ancient pokémon went back to sleep. My theory is that Team Aqua and Team Magma, now under new management, are trying to get a second chance at achieving their individual goals, and need Groudon or Kyogre to do so."

"What are their goals?" Niko asked.

"Team Magma has always been about creating more land, and Team Aqua has been about expanding the seas. It's an ideology for them."

"And why would they want access to Rayquaza?" JJ queried.

"Maybe to get Rayquaza on their side? To capture it? Could be many different reasons, but they definitely want Rayquaza in some capacity."

"Do you know where they are now? They also have our friend," Niko said, thinking of Brittany.

"Team Magma's base is inside Mt. Chimney."

"Then we need to go there!" JJ exclaimed. "Like, right now!"

"Hold your horsea, kid," Zinnia said, physically holding her hand out. "They outnumber us. We should careful with this. Luckily, I've seen their base and know a thing or two about getting around in it. Give me some time to come up with a plan."

Minutes later, Zinnia reconvened with the three boys, and they were off to Mt. Chimney. As Niko and his friends continued to walk, Zinnia stopped, eliciting a reaction from them.

"Zinnia? Aren't you coming?" Niko asked.

"Yup. Just going to make the ride quicker. Salamence, flygon, let's go!" She said, summoning a large teal colored pokémon with long red wings and two bug-eyed, dragonfly-esque pokémon on each side. Niko and JJ pulled out their pokédexes:

" _Salamence, the dragon pokémon. Dragon and flying type. After many long years, its cellular structure underwent a sudden mutation to grow wings. When angered, it loses all though and rampages out of control_."

" _Flygon, the mystic pokémon. Ground and dragon type. The flapping of its wings sounds like singing. Because the "singing" is the only thing that can be heard in a sandstorm, this pokémon is said to be the desert spirit_."

"Stop dillydallying and get on!" Zinnia shouted as Niko, JJ, and Jake each got on one, with Zinnia joining Jake on the Salamence (Niko wouldn't let him fly on one of the others on his own). They took off, scaring the hell out of Niko, who is afraid of heights, and made off in the direction of the volcano. Even though he disliked heights, Niko enjoyed watching the landscape below him pass by. From his vantage point, he could see a fair amount of western Hoenn. He could see Fallarbor Town, Route 113, and even parts of Lavaridge Town. To his left, he could see the ocean off in the distance.

It only took then ten or so minutes, but they landed on the side of the mountain, where Zinnia and Jake landed and immediately began examining what looked like the entrance: a set of tall, thick metal steel plates that resembled doors with a scanner and a number pad sitting on its left side.

"So…this is the place?" JJ commented as he looked around for a bit. "Doesn't look like much."

"And there isn't much to see, honestly," Zinnia commented. "I've been here once since Maxie left. They've completely trashed the place, and don't really care much for it. But I guess that's as good a reason as any to keep it around, right?"

Niko and JJ shrugged as Zinnia finally unlocked the door, pushing the left one open and quickly skirting inside and down a tunnel, leaving Niko and JJ to close the door and walk down the tunnel alone with Jake.

"What do you think of her?" JJ whispered to Niko as they walked down the tunnel.

"Odd, but whatever. She's getting us to Brittany, and that's what matters, right?" JJ nodded as they continued on.

Moments later, they reached a wide-open room that looked deserted. There were wires sparking every which way and machines clearly broken and scattered across the ground floor. Niko stepped over the broken wires as he, JJ, and Jake examined the room. It was short-lived, however, since Zinnia was already on the move down a tunnel to their right. Sighing, Niko pointed in her direction and the three raced off to catch up.

They once again stopped as Zinnia was edging her way around a wall to peek at something. Suddenly she jerked her head back around to face her three companions. "They're here. I'm not sure what exactly this room is, but I think it's Courtney's primary base of operations, judging by how it looks relative to everywhere else," she whispered.

"So how are we going to go about this?" Niko whispered back. Zinnia turned back around and then looked back at Niko.

"There aren't many of them; we could probably fight them. Three of us distract while the other one goes and gets my grandma and your friend. How does that sound?"

The three trainers, lacking any better plan, agreed to this. Zinnia then turned back around to get a final look, and then tossed a pokéball onto the ground, ultimately containing her salamence.

"Use dragonbreath!" She shouted, catching the Magma grunts and Courtney off guard, engulfing the ground in front of them in purple fire. Panicked, the grunts threw out pokéballs containing numels, zubats, and poochyenas. At this point, JJ and Jake both ran out, sending out umbreon, marill, mudkip, and seedot to join salamence. Niko ran around the battle to collect Brittany and Zinnia's grandmother.

"Niko!" Brittany shouted out. She tried to run towards her friend, but was stopped by a grunt who grabbed her by the arm.

"Not so fast, kid," Courtney said, camerupt at her side. With a flick of her finger, two grunts ran from behind her to grab the grandmother and Brittany and carry them off again. "You'll have to get through me.

"Fine then. Aron, I choose you!" Niko shouted, throwing out his pokéball. "Use dig!"

"Camerupt, earthquake," Courtney said calmly. The eruption pokémon shook the ground under it, causing the room around them to shake and the other battles to halt. As Niko was trying to make sure Jake and JJ were safe, Courtney returned camerupt and escaped down the tunnel her grunts had left. Soon enough the room was empty, with only Niko, JJ, Jake, Zinnia, and their pokémon.

"You idiot! You let them get away!" Zinnia shouted at Niko, pointing down to the tunnel across the room. "Ugh!" She cried out as she and salamence rushed after Courtney and the rest of Team Magma. Niko and his friends followed after her, running up through the tunnels until they reached what seemed to be the top of Mt. Chimney. There they saw Brittany in the vice grip of a grunt while Courtney was standing in front of a vast pit of magma.

"You interfere with our plans any further, and you can say goodbye to your friend," Courtney said coldly, staring down Zinnia and Niko. "As for your grandmother, if we can't get the answers that we need out of her, then we will use brute force to. And don't think about interfering either, Zinnia—your grandmother will perish, too."

Niko felt pressure inside his chest. It felt like his blood was boiling, and when the rage swelled up inside him, he rushed forward at Courtney, summoning his full team of pokémon to assist him. Thinking unusually quickly, he commanded electrike to use thunderwave, which stunned all of the grunts, their pokémon, and Courtney, Brittany, and Zinnia's grandmother, causing everyone to collapse onto the ground.

Niko was about to make a run for Brittany when a hand grabbed his ankle, causing him to collapse. He looked back to see Courtney fighting through the paralysis, slowly letting go of his ankle and standing back up.

"You. Will. Not. Stop. Us. Camerupt, use take down!" Courtney said, throwing her pokéball to her side and unleashing the eruption pokémon. As it stampeded towards Niko, his numel and aron intercepted, holding the camerupt back, which gave their trainer enough time to get back on his feet. However, before he could do so, Courtney lunged at him and tackled him back to the ground. "Stop this!" She said in an unusually angry tone, gripping his neck and choking him. It was short lived, however, as taillow swooped down and struck Courtney in the back with its talons and electrike slammed into her with quick attack, knocking her over.

Meanwhile, JJ and Jake continued their battle with the grunts, along with the help of Zinnia's salamence, while the Draconid went to rescue her grandmother with her two flygons at her side. Eventually, JJ noticed that she wasn't going for Brittany either, and called her out on it.

"Hey! Can you help us, too?" The curly blonde shouted. Zinnia ignored him as she helped her grandmother get aboard one of the flygon while she boarded the other. Whistling, she summoned her salamence, which immediately left the battle and allowed them to escape.

Courtney, seeing this, snapped back at Niko and dove for him again, only to be pried off again by treecko and taillow, while electrike fought off grunts and their pokémon with its new spark attack. JJ, having defeated the grunts with Jake, ran over to challenge the ones keeping Brittany captive while Jake ran at Courtney, who did not see the little boy coming. He leapt at her side, tackling her to the ground, which gave Niko enough room to get back up, pry his brother off, and stand over Courtney.

"It's over," Niko said, panting. "The Draconids are gone. You failed…"

"Oh, child, I did not fail. Team Magma will continue towards its goal. I just need to re-think my strategy…" Courtney said, scooting away from Niko and standing up. "We will call this a draw."

"A draw?" JJ said in shock. "We beat you!"

"No, you did not. I surrendered this battle," Courtney said as she briefly turned behind her back to see JJ, Brittany, and some of her own grunts standing there. "Team Magma, move out."

With that, all of the grunts and Courtney left the top of Mt. Chimney, leaving the group alone once again.

"Brittany, are you alright?" Niko asked, looking sympathetically at his brunette friend.

"I'm just fine. A few bruises, but nothing serious. Thanks for getting me back, you guys."

"That's what friends are for, right?" Niko asked, eliciting a light chuckle from the other three. He then turned to the magma below them. "I'm just worried about what this means for Team Magma. They'll be back."

"And if we find them, we'll beat them," Brittany said. "All of us."

"Speaking of which: Brittany, do you have your pokéballs?" Niko asked, cocking his head a little to the right in bemusement.

"Oh, of course! So, story is that the grunts took them from me, but when JJ ran over here, his umbreon managed to tackle the grunt that had them, and tossed them back to me individually. Everything is fine now, I swear!"

"Alright, just checking!" Niko said, raising his hands slightly as if guilty of something. Once again, his friend laughed a little. "Also, what happened to Zinnia?"

"Who's Zinnia?" Brittany asked. "Is she that girl with the dragon?"

"Yeah, that's her salamence," JJ explained. "She's a Draconid. And so is her grandmother. Don't worry, we can explain it you on the way to Lavaridge Town."

"Where's Zinnia, actually?" Niko asked. He clearly didn't see her leave with her grandmother, as he was too busy dealing with Courtney to notice.

"She left without trying to help Brittany. It was pretty selfish of her," JJ said with contempt in his voice.

"Whatever, everyone is safe now. Hopefully we don't have to help her again. She clearly only cares about her needs."

The group all nodded in agreement as they began to head down the mountain, where Lavaridge Town was awaiting them at the bottom.

* * *

The next day, the group woke up late in the morning, as they had reached Lavaridge Town at roughly 3am. Since he didn't get much training done, Niko chose to spend the day in Lavaridge Town doing some last-minute training, and would challenge the gym leader the following day.

Lavaridge Town is famous for its hot springs, and the group took full advantage of this by spending their afternoon sitting in the pools of hot water with some of their pokémon. Treecko, who was the only one on Niko's team who felt comfortable joining him in the water, did so and seemed to relax significantly while taillow sat perched on the edge of the pool soaking in the steam rising from the water.

Regardless, after the events in Meteor Falls and Mt. Chimney, the group certainly needed the relaxation before continuing on with their gym and contest challenges.


	26. Battle on a sunny day!

**Episode 26: Battle on a sunny day!**

Niko and his friends arrived at the Lavaridge gym the morning following their excursion to the hot springs. The gym, unlike nearly every other one he's been to, was outdoors this time; an open battlefield in the middle of a dojo. It took Niko a moment to realize this once he entered inside the gym, looking around for any sign of a gym leader.

"JJ, who's the gym leader of Lavaridge Town?" Niko asked, turning to his friend with the pokénav.

"Her name is Flannery. Early 30s, by the look of it," JJ said as he gazed at the gym leader. While he read more of her bio, Niko noticed the outdoor battlefield and walked outside, Brittany and Jake closely following him.

"HIYAAAA!" A voice shouted at two small geysers released steam on the other end of the field, clouding it as a figure leapt into action, landing in front of the geysers and posing in front of the group.

"Oh, hello!" Niko said. "My name is Niko. I'm from Pallet Town, and I'd like to challenge you!"

The woman—presumably Flannery—was slightly shorter than Niko, with bright red hair that was tied in a ponytail that produced four tails instead of one, making it look like she had a massive "x" on the back of her head. She wore a low-cut shirt with an orange flame on it and low-cut jeans, revealing her midriff.

"Oh…hey. Didja like my entrance?" Flannery asked, pointing over her shoulder. "I'm told I should be making more of an entrance when I get challengers."

"It was pretty cool, but you don't _have_ to make an entrance. Most of the gym leaders I've met haven't."

"Noted. Alright, you want to challenge me? Got four pokémon?" Niko nodded. "Great!" Flannery exclaimed. "Then let's do it!" A judge walked out from behind her and stood on the side of the field in front of JJ, Jake, and Brittany. Flannery then pulled out a pokéball from her belt. "Numel, let's go!"

"Alright then. Taillow, I choose you!" Niko shouted, summoning his swallow pokémon. "Use wing attack!"

"Numel, sunny day!" Flannery commanded. The numb pokémon looked to the sky as the sun seemed to get slightly brighter. Taillow then collided with the fire type, knocking it back a couple of feet. "Now, take down!"

"Taillow, get back in the air and use quick attack!" Niko commanded. Taillow swooped back up, dodging the take down, and proceeded to dive-bomb its opponent once more. However, when it came back down for another go, Flannery had something in mind.

"Numel, use overheat!" She cried out, gesturing with her hand. Numel's body began to glow bright red and it released a wave of fire in every direction, hitting taillow and immediately disrupting its wing attack. The tiny swallow pokémon crashed to the ground. "Now, finish it off with take down!"

"Taillow, get up!" Niko shouted, but the bird didn't seem capable. It took the hit from numel, and fainted.

"Taillow is unable to battle, numel wins!" The judge declared.

"Return, taillow. You did great. Hmm…treecko, I choose you!" Niko shouted, summoning his wood gecko pokémon, which to his friends was unexpected.

"A grass type? Haven't seen that in a long time. Numel, use overheat!"

"Treecko, get low to the ground!" Niko commanded. The grass type obeyed as the overheat began to pass through it, doing damage to the wood gecko, but not as much damage. "Hopefully that reduced the damage you had to take. Anyways, use pound!"

"Numel, magnitude!" Flannery commanded. However, by the time numel began shaking the ground under it, treecko was already leaping into the air, somersaulting until it slammed its thick tail on its opponent. "Take down!"

Once treecko landed on the ground, numel charged after it, running into the wood gecko. Treecko grabbed onto its head to halt its movement, and began to succeed once Niko commanded it to use absorb. Treecko then let go and flipped in the air to land another pound, directly between numel's eyes, knocking the pokémon to the ground.

"Numel is unable to battle, treecko wins!" The judge declared.

"Slugma, you're up!" Flannery commanded, summoning a slug pokémon with a body of magma. "Use smog!"

"What's this pokémon?" Jake asked, pulling out his pokédex:

" _Slugma, the lava pokémon. Fire type. It is a species of pokémon that lives in volcanic areas. If its body cools, its skin hardens and immobilizes it. To avoid that, it sleeps near magma_."

"Gee, Niko would do well to have a water type," Jake commented.

"Treecko, try to escape the smog!" Niko shouted, but it was too late. The toxic gas was surrounding his gecko pokémon, immediately poisoning it. Treecko collapsed onto its knees, having been weakened by the gas. "Can you use bullet seed?" Niko asked rather than commanded. Treecko nodded, and raised its head back to slugma and fired several rounds of seeds at its opponent, who hardly seemed fazed from them.

"Slugma, use ember!" Flannery commanded, and the lava pokémon hurled several small fireballs from its mouth at treecko, who retaliated with bullet seed, albeit far slower and weaker than previously, since the poison was taking effect. "Now, finish it off with overheat!" Flannery shouted. Slugma began to glow bright red as it released a powerful wave of fire at treecko, ultimately finishing off the wood gecko. Treecko collapsed on its back, defeated.

"Treecko is unable to battle, slugma wins!" The judge stated.

"Numel, let's go!" Niko shouted, summoning his numb pokémon. "Use magnitude!" Numel instead turned to Niko, as if looking for assurance. Confused, Niko motioned his hand to prod on the fire type, who still seemed unsure. "Go on, you can do it buddy. This is how we get better—by winning battles."

Numel nodded, turning back to its opponent, who was attempting to defeat it with a series of embers. The numb pokémon then roared out as the ground shook, albeit weakly, enough for slugma to survive.

"That's…better, numel. Good job," Niko said in praise. Numel turned around and nodded. "Now, use tackle!"

Numel charged at slugma, who responded with a body slam, covering the hump on numel's back. Which gave Niko an opportunity he couldn't seem to pass up. "Numel, use magnitude!" He shouted, throwing his hand out as a gesture. Numel, with slugma still on top of it, shook both itself and the ground, which clearly unsettled the lava pokémon, who slid off of numel and collapsed onto the ground.

"Slugma, use smog!"

"Numel, halt it with magnitude!" Niko shouted. Numel shook the ground once more, still as weak as the previous few times, but effective nonetheless. Slugma then released the smog from its mouth, hitting numel directly in the face. The numb pokémon cried out as the toxic gas took effect, causing the fire type to collapse onto the ground, but not yet defeated.

"Slugma, body slam again!"

"Numel, magnitude!" Niko commanded. "You can do this buddy, I know you can!"

Numel, hearing its trainer, shook the ground more viciously than before, trying to summon as much energy as it could. Once slugma slammed onto numel's hump, it felt the aggressive force of the ground move, and quickly fell off of numel, unable to take more of the magnitude.

"Slugma is unable to battle, numel wins!" The judge declared.

"Numel, can you keep going?" Niko asked. The numb pokémon slowly got up and nodded as it faced Flannery, who was ready with her third pokémon.

"Mag, let's go!" Flannery said, summoning her magcargo. Like with slugma, Jake once again pulled out his pokédex:

" _Magcargo, the lava pokémon. Fire and rock type. The shell on its back is made of hardened magma. Tens of thousands of years spent living in volcanic craters have turned magcargo's bodies into magma._ "

"Mag, use flamethrower!" Flannery commanded as her second lava pokémon belted out a stream of fire at the poisoned numel, who took the attack in turn before using magnitude again, albeit weaker, since the poison was still taking its toll. However, it did an unexpected amount of damage to magcargo, who certainly seemed irritated by the move. "Use double team, and then flamethrower!"

"Numel, hang in there a little longer! Use magnitude!" Niko shouted. As the magcargo multiplied, numel stood there, shaking the ground with every ounce of energy it had left. However, the barrage of flamethrowers were too much for it, and numel collapsed to the ground, defeated.

"Numel is unable to battle, magcargo wins!" The judge stated.

"Numel, return. You did good buddy. I'm proud. Aron, let's go!"

"Mag, use flamethrower!" Flannery commanded. The lava pokémon released a stream of fire from its mouth, which hit aron, but hardly seemed to do any damage to it.

"Aron, use harden, and then dig!" Niko shouted. The iron armor pokémon nodded, digging into the ground and hitting Mag from underneath, sending it into the air several inches. "Now, mud slap!" Aron kicked dirt from under Mag, hitting it once again before retreating back into the hole and returning to where it began.

"Mag, double team!" Flannery commanded. "And flamethrower!"

"Aron, dig again! And again! And again!" Niko shouted. Aron dug and popped out under Mag multiple times, destroying each copy before ultimately hitting the real one. Mag fell onto its side. "Aron, use headbutt!" Niko shouted. The iron armor pokémon rushed at its opponent and slammed its iron head into Mag's lava body.

"Mag, can you get up?" Flannery asked, genuinely concerned. Mag kept trying to get back up, eventually doing so after several minutes. "Great! Use flamethrower!"

"Aron, use harden!" Niko commanded. Aron shielded itself from the stream of fire before kicking dirt at its opponent, and then proceeding to dig back into the ground. "Now, use dig one final time!"

Aron shot out from under Mag, launching it into the air. When it landed—again on its side—Mag was unable to get back up.

"Magcargo is unable to battle, aron wins! Flannery will send out her final pokémon!" The judge declared.

"Torkoal, I choose you!" Flannery commanded, sending out a tortoise-like pokémon with a large black rock-like shell with several holes in it. Curious, JJ and Jake looked at it on their pokédexes:

" _Torkoal, the coal pokémon. Fire type. It battles using energy it gets from burning coal. When loosing smoke from its nostrils, it lets off a sound that is similar to a locomotive's horn_."

"Torkoal, use sunny day!" Flannery said, repeating her move from the very start of the battle.

"Aron, mud slap!" Niko commanded as his iron armor pokémon kicked dirt at its opponent, which surprisingly angered torkoal. "Now, use dig!"

"Torkoal, flamethrower!" Flannery commanded as it released a stream of fire that nearly hit aron, had it not used dig. "Flamethrower under you!" She shouted, learning from her opponent.

"Aron change course!" Niko shouted. However, it didn't appear that aron heard its trainer, as it reappeared under torkoal, and took a steady flamethrower to the face, causing it to fall back into the hole from where it had come. "Use harden!" He said, hoping to weaken the effect of flamethrower. Aron retreated back to its starting position, just as torkoal used overheat at full power, with additional power from sunny day. "Aron!" Niko shouted as his steel type collapsed onto the ground. "You can do it! Let's keep this up, we're almost done!" Niko said, trying to encourage aron. "Use dig!"

Flannery and torkoal stood there, waiting to see what Niko and aron would do. The latter dug a hole into the ground and was travelling under the battlefield. Eventually torkoal looked down and began spitting fire in hopes that aron would be there.

"Now aron!" Niko shouted, knowing exactly what the iron armor pokémon would do. Aron popped out from torkoal's left and slammed into the coal pokemon's side, nearly knocking it over from the force of the attack. "Use mud slap!" Niko commanded, once again throwing his hand out. Aron kicked dirt into torkoal's face, angering it before lowering its head and headbutting the fire tortoise, knocking it back a couple feet.

"Torkoal, flamethrower!" Flannery commanded.

"Aron, harden and headbutt!" Niko shouted. Aron braced itself as it lurched at its opponent, once more slamming its head into torkoal once again. Reeling itself, aron dug a hole in the ground and reappeared only inches away, right under torkoal, launching it into the air. When torkoal hit the ground, it was unable to get back up.

"Torkoal is unable to battle, aron is the—huh?" The judge said, turning to aron, which was now glowing a bright white color.

"Aron…is evolving!" Niko exclaimed. The iron armor pokémon grew to twice its size, now with a bigger head, body, and armor plating. It also has a small tail at the end, and stood on four feet like aron. Curious, Niko pulled out his pokédex:

" _Lairon, the iron armor pokémon. Steel and rock type. When two lairon meet in the wild, they fight for territory by bashing into each other with their steel bodies. The sound of their collision carries for miles_."

"Lairon is the winner, and the victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!" The judge finished.

"You did it, buddy," Niko said, walking over and petting lairon on the head. "We did it."

While his friends were exiting the small stands to join him, Flannery and torkoal were congratulating Niko and lairon. The gym leader then held out an orange and yellow badge in the shape of fire.

"Great job, Niko! You really surprised me a few times. As proof that you beat me, I award the heat badge to you."

Niko took the badge and showed it to lairon, who really showed its stuff that day, beating two of Flannery's pokémon. Lairon looked up at its trainer and smiled happily. Niko thanked Flannery, and then the group was off, back to the pokémon center.

"So, Niko," JJ said, looking at the pokénav while munching on a fry. "The closest gym to here is Petalburg which, according to Norman…"

"I can challenge now," Niko said, finishing JJ's sentence. "Well, there ya go! Let's head to Petalburg next! How long will it take?"

"Oh, jeez…almost two weeks. We'll have to go east, then south to Mauville, and then we could go west to Verdanturf and Rustboro City, and then southeast to Petalburg. It'll be a long trip, you up for its guys?"

Brittany, Jake, and Niko all nodded.

"Perfect! Also, Brittany, apparently there's a contest in Petalburg coming up. Wanna enter it?"

"Sure, if we make it there in time!" The brunette answered.

"Alright, if we can," JJ said, looking up and smiling before putting away his pokénav and getting back to their lunch.


	27. The desert storm

**Episode 27: The desert storm**

After Niko's win at the Lavaridge Gym, the group began making their way back to Petalburg City, where Niko could finally challenge Norman, the man who gave him the idea to travel to Hoenn in the first place. The journey would take a while, according to JJ's pokénav, and so the trainers spent some time preparing for it while in Lavaridge Town.

The following day they set off moving southeast towards Mauville City. Along the way, Niko continued training his team. Treecko was working on improving its absorb to make it mega drain—with the assistance of Brittany and Tangela; taillow worked on perfecting its double team; electrike with spark. Niko had the hardest time with lairon and numel, the two pokémon he relied on the most against Flannery. Since evolving, lairon became considerably slower. It would take Niko ages to come to terms with this, but nevertheless he tried to work with it by running everyday with the iron armor pokémon in hopes of increasing its speed. Numel, on the other hand, was still not listening much to Niko. He found this odd, considering numel did unexpectedly well against Flannery. Niko kept trying to get numel to train, but the fire type still refused to listen to him.

Brittany and JJ, on the other hand, were working on new contest performances. JJ was particularly training growlithe and his newly evolved marill to learn new tricks. Now that growlithe had learned roar, JJ wanted to teach it flamethrower, which was easier than he thought it would be. However, the puppy pokémon struggled with maintaining a steady stream of fire, and the attack quickly dissipated. Marill, on the other hand, was learning water gun and doing relatively well with it.

Tangela and torchic were learning new moves, too. Tangela had finally mastered mega drain after a couple of days, and spent some time trying to teach it to treecko. Torchic was working on fire spin with Brittany, in hopes of using it in the upcoming Petalburg Contest. It was clear to Brittany that torchic had enough firepower to use fire spin, but struggled with actually making the fire spin around.

Even Jake spent some time training. Mudkip was getting closer to perfecting rock smash, and seedot was learning synthesis. He would occasionally train alongside his brother, which both them and their pokémon seemed to enjoy.

"Hey, Niko, what's that in the distance?" Brittany asked, squinting her eyes a little as she looked at the sand dunes ahead of them.

"Looks like a desert? JJ, there's a desert on our path?" Niko asked, turning to his friend. The curly blonde pulled out his pokénav to examine it and nodded.

"Yup, it's the quickest way to Mauville City from here. Otherwise, we have to go around it, and that's, well, a long way."

"Alright, whaddya say guys?" Niko asked, turning to his friends. They all nodded, agreeing with this plan. "Let's go."

The four trainers began their trek through the desert, which was far from easy. The sand constantly slowed them down, getting into their shoes and making walking more difficult than it should have been. Walking over sand dunes was particularly hard, since it took more time and effort to cross over them.

They tried to sit down to take a break, but as they did so a brief gust of wind blew everything over and into the sand.

"Niko, I think we should turn back…" Brittany said worriedly. "I mean, this is miserable."

"JJ, how far are we?" Niko asked as he tried to clean sand out of his stuff.

"No idea. The pokénav isn't responding."

"You're kidding me…" Niko said in shock. "Well, let's just keep going in the same direction we were already going in," He said as he got back up and looked around. "Wait…where exactly _is_ the direction we were going in?"

Brittany and Jake both facepalmed, loud enough for Niko to hear them.

"We have no idea where we are now?" Brittany shouted irritably, scaring Niko, who nervously shook his head. "YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!"

"Niko!" Jake said, "Why can't we get out of here!?"

"Guys, I don't know…I wish I had the answers," Niko said, pleading with his friends. "If I knew anything we'd be getting out of here," Coming up with an idea, he sent out taillow.  
Hey buddy, can you fly up and see how far we are in the desert?"

The tiny swallow pokémon nodded and flew up into the sky. It then came back down a minute later and pointed in one direction. Nodding, Niko and his friends started walking again, with taillow still out of its pokéball.

The group continued on for a bit, with Brittany sending out wartortle to help fight the dry heat of the desert alongside JJ's marill and Jake's mudkip. It seemed to be working for some time—luckily—until the group saw a giant gust of sand and wind picking up in front of them.

"Uh…is that?" JJ asked, pointing to the force of nature ahead.

"Looks like a sandstorm is coming…" Niko said, reaching into his bag and pulling out goggles that he bought back in Mauville City. The rest of the group did the same, as they were warned back in Mauville that they might encounter a desert on their way. "Let's try and stick together, alright? We can't lose anyone here."

The group then trudged forward into the sandstorm, hoping to make it through. Niko for one felt the coarse sand pelt his skin as he slowly made his way through. Occasionally he tried looking back to make sure everyone was alright, but he had difficulty seeing them, and just assumed that they were following closely behind. He also couldn't see taillow, but he just attributed that to the swallow choosing to remain above the sandstorm. Nodding as if talking to someone, he continued on…

* * *

The sandstorm had passed, and when Niko finally took off his goggles, he looked around and noticed that he was completely alone.

"Hello? Anyone here?" Niko shouted. "JJ? Brittany? Jake? Jake!?" Niko shouted out loud. "Taillow?"

Niko then noticed something buried under the sand with a zig-zagging black and blue tail sticking out from the surface. Getting onto his knees he began pushing away sand to see JJ's marill nearly unconscious.

"Marill!" Niko shouted. "Wake up! It's me, Niko!"

Marill opened its eyes, saw Niko, and then looked around frantically for JJ. It then dawned on him that marill had never really been separated from its trainer since they met back in Johto. Niko set marill back on its feet.

"I have no idea where everyone is, marill. I'm sorry, but I'm sure we'll find them!" Niko said, trying to calm down the clearly upset aqua mouse pokémon. "C'mon," He said, reaching into his bag and pulling out a candy bar. "I was saving this for later, but do you want it? It's really good! Chocolate and peanut butter!"

Marill eyed the bar for a moment before taking it from Niko. It took a bite and looked as if it had found love. Niko stood up and began walking, with marill in tow behind it.

"I guess we should just keep going in this direction. What do you think, marill?"

The aqua mouse looked up at Niko, its face covered in chocolate, and nodded. Niko smiled, amused by the childishness of the little pokémon.

"Glad you like the candy. It's one of my favorites."

* * *

Brittany woke up staring at the blinding sun. Covering her eyes, she sat up, removed some of the sand from her hair, and took off her goggles. Looking around, she noticed that she was the only one anywhere close to her.

"Where the hell am I…?" She asked, realizing that she was only talking to herself. "Wartortle? Niko? JJ?" She stood up, albeit with some difficulty. "How long have I been out for?" She looked up, noticing that the sandstorm was long gone. She then began walking for a bit until she saw a small blue pokémon looking around anxiously. "Mudkip…?"

The mudfish pokémon turned in Brittany's direction and immediately began running toward her, eventually leaping into the brunette's arms and trying to hug her.

"It doesn't seem like anyone is around here mudkip. We must've gotten separated during the sandstorm. Let's keep moving forward—if that way is forward—and see if we can find anyone, alright?"

Mudkip nodded, turning itself around so it was looking in the same direction as Brittany. The two continued moving forward until they noticed a large tomb-like structure surround by seven pointed stones. On the main tomb were seven yellow dots, arranged in an "H" pattern.

"What's this?" She asked. Mudkip turned around, looking concerned. "Do you know what this is?"

Mudkip nodded, albeit nervously. It was one of the pokémon that ventured to the Island Cave with some of the other pokémon.

"Well, let's sit down and take a break," Brittany said, sitting her and the water type down against one of the pointed rocks. She pulled out a water bottle and let mudkip have some before taking a sip herself. "I hope everyone else is doing alright…"

* * *

"Niko!? Brittany!? MARILL!?" JJ shouted, looking around frantically. He had continued walking through the sandstorm, but for some reason he couldn't find anyone else within sight. "Dammit…what happened…?" He said, sitting back down in the sand and leaning back, ripping his goggles off. "We should have linked arms or something…I don't know…"

Suddenly, JJ heard something wiggling in the sand next to him. A white tail popped out of the ground, and there wartortle was, rising out of the pile of sand under it.

"Wartortle? What the hell…? Are you alright?"

The turtle pokémon nodded before spitting some sand out and wiping off its hands and legs.

"Well, can't seem to find anyone yet, are you feeling up to looking for people?"

Wartortle nodded as it was emptying its shell of any extra sand. JJ stood up, grabbed his bag, and trudged off through the sand, with wartortle right behind him.

"Hungry? Thirsty?" JJ asked, looking behind him. Wartortle nodded, and JJ stopped to pull out his water bottle. "There, that should replenish you a little," He said, remembering that the dry heat weakened wartortle's water type moves.

After what seemed like forever, JJ and wartortle looked up and saw a small black and white bird flying in the distance. JJ then began jumping up and down frantically, trying to get its attention.

"Taillow! It's me! JJ!" He shouted, with wartortle also jumping to get the swallow's attention. Taillow turned to see the two, and immediately began descending towards them, nearly crashing into JJ. "Hey, have you seen anyone else?" Taillow nodded. "Niko? Brittany? Jake?" Taillow nodded to the last one. "Jake! Is he alone? Where is he?"

Taillow pointed its wing in a direction slightly to JJ's right.

"Got it. Wartortle, let's go find Jake. I'm sure Niko's worried sick about him."

* * *

Jake woke up coughing up sand. He opened his eyes to see an orange, bug-like pokémon staring at it with its beady black and white eyes.

"Oh my god!" Jake shouted, and the orange pokémon scuttled backwards. Sitting up, he got a better look at the little pokémon, pulling out his pokédex to more accurately see what it was:

" _Trapinch, the ant pit pokémon. Ground type. Trapinch is a patient hunter. It digs an inescapable pit in a desert and waits for its prey to come tumbling down. This pokémon can go a whole week without access to any water_."

"You're a tough little guy, aren't ya?" Jake asked the trapinch. The ant pit pokémon nodded proudly, almost falling over. "Well, my name is Jake. Nice to meet you," He then looked around to find himself completely alone. "I can't seem to find my friends. They're a bunch of humans, much bigger than I am. Could you help me find them?"

Trapinch looked around bemused. He then turned back to Jake and nodded slightly before digging back into the ground. As it was doing this, Jake was something black and white coming crashing down near him.

"Taillow?" He asked, scooching over to see the tiny swallow looking severely weak. "Are you alright?" Jake pulled out some of his leftover water—mudkip had taken most of it—and mouth-fed it to the bird pokémon, who seemed to wake up moments later. "Oh good, you're awake. So, I can't seem to find everyone else. Could you go flying around looking for them?"

Taillow nodded, suddenly feeling more energized as trapinch returned, scaring the swallow, who immediately began attacking the ground type.

"Taillow! It's okay, this is trapinch. He's our friend," Jake explained, which seemed to calm taillow down. The tiny swallow knew how much Jake meant to its trainer, and saw it as its duty to protect the young boy from danger, at least until Niko was back. Trapinch stopped recoiling, looking as if it were ready to attack taillow. "Trapinch, this is my brother's pokémon, taillow. It's friendly, I swear."

Trapinch nodded before turning back to Jake and pointing in the direction to Jake's immediate left. Apparently, it found something off in the distance.

"You found another human?" Trapinch nodded. "Alright, let's go look for them then. Taillow, if you find anyone, can you saw we went in that direction?"

Taillow nodded, and then flew off in the opposite direction, hoping to find someone—anyone. Jake got up and began walking with trapinch in the direction the ant pit pokémon found another human. Minutes later, they saw a giant stone tomb, seven pointed rocks and, sitting against one of those rocks was Brittany and mudkip.

"Brittany! Mudkip!" Jake shouted, running towards his friends with trapinch scurrying behind.

"Jake? Jake!" Brittany said, shooting onto her feet to embrace the younger boy. Once they let go, mudkip leapt into its trainer's arms, causing the two to laugh with joy. "Are you okay, Jake? You hurt at all?"

"Don't think so. This is trapinch, Brittany. It helped me find you," Jake said, pointing to trapinch, who looked away nervously. The brunette waved to the ant pit pokémon. "I also found Niko's taillow, and sent it off looking for JJ and Niko. I told it to come looking for us in this direction."

"Wow Jake, that's really smart of you!" Brittany said, sounding incredibly impressed. "Well, I found mudkip looking around for everyone, and then we came across this. Not sure what it is, though. Do you?"

Jake eyed the tomb with the seven dots on it, and shook his head. "Nope, not really. I read something somewhere about Hoenn legends, but I don't think this is the one."

"Sounds like something kids like you wouldn't read about," Brittany said, again surprised by the intelligence of the boy.

Jake beamed at his brunette friend as they heard someone yelling in their direction. Turning around, they saw JJ, wartortle, and taillow running towards them. Moments later, JJ and embracing Brittany, and then wartortle and its trainer reunited. JJ then caught up with Brittany and Jake before eying the tomb.

"What's this?" He asked, panting.

"No idea. None of us seem to know. Anyways, I take it you haven't found Niko."

"Nope, and haven't found marill either. Hopefully they're together. Marill hasn't been separated from me…ever, I don't think."

"That must be rough. I put pichu in its pokéball. It doesn't like dirt much," Brittany said, looking down at the pokéball in her pocket. "Let's go and look for Niko, he shouldn't be too far,"

"Hopefully not," JJ said, and the three trainers, their pokémon, and trapinch all walked off, away from the desert tomb, completely unaware of what it might actually be.

As they continued walking, they saw a tall, brown-haired man and a small blue ball walking over a sand dune, clearly talking about something. Realizing who it was, Jake burst into a spring up the sand dune, tackling his brother to the ground as JJ, Brittany, and the pokémon followed.

"Jake? Hey!" Niko said, pulling off his brother. "JJ! Brittany! Taillow!" Niko hugged each of his friends before looking around. "So…what happened?"

"We all got separate, it seems," Brittany explained. "And Jake here helped find everyone," she then went into how Jake and trapinch found her and mudkip, and Jake and taillow found JJ and wartortle. When they were finished, Niko looked at his younger brother, clearly impressed.

"Wow, I'm proud of you, buddy. I wouldn't have thought of that," Niko said, ruffling his brother's hair, noticing some sand fall out of it.

"You totally would have though!" Jake protested. He laughed with his friends before noticing trapinch beginning to walk away. "Hey, trapinch," He said. The ant pit pokémon turned back, nearly falling over again. Jake crouched down to look at the pokémon that helped him find everyone. "I want to thank you. I wouldn't have found my brother without you. And…I want you to come with us on our journey. You seem friendly, and I like that!" Jake said with a slight laugh. The trapinch looked around at the rest of the group, who all wore friendly smiles, as if encouraging trapinch to join them.

The ant pit pokémon eventually nodded, and Jake pulled out a pokéball and tapped it against trapinch's head. The ground type went into the ball, and it wiggled in the sand for a moment before clicking.

"Good job, Jake," Niko said encouragingly to his brother. "Now, let's get going! I think we're almost to Mauville City!"

"Yeah, actually though," JJ said, looking at the pokénav again, forgetting that it stopped working. "And it looks like its working again!"

The group cheered as they continued on with their journey back to Petalburg City via Mauville, united as one once again.


	28. The road back to Petalburg

**Episode 28: The road back to Petalburg**

As expected, the road to Petalburg City was long and arduous. After the events in the Hoenn Desert, the group eventually made it to Mauville City the same day. There they cleaned up, rested for a day, and went shopping before heading off west to Verdanturf Town.

There, they largely rinsed and repeated before continuing west through the Rusturf Tunnel, where they spent another night, and nearly got attacked by wild zubat. Thanks to electrike and pichu, the group was able to fend off the bats, but couldn't sleep, and so continued walking down the tunnel until they reached the other end, and found themselves only a few days away from Rustboro City, where they would eventually re-stock on their supplies and continue on to Petalburg City.

The morning following their exit from the Rusturf Tunnel, the group spent some time training. Since their desert trip, none of them really got a chance to train their pokémon. Niko went through the same exercises as he did when he left Lavaridge Town, only this time treecko seemed to have mega drain down, and taillow was closer than ever to perfecting double team. Numel still wasn't listening much, and lairon wasn't getting much faster. Electrike also mastered spark in a practice battle with JJ and growlithe, who had figured out flamethrower, but still struggled with maintaining it.

Meanwhile, Brittany was working on her performances with tangela and torchic, now unsure of who to use. Tangela seemed to have an interest in it, having watched its teammates practice several times. However, torchic's fire spin gave Brittany ideas on how to use it in the Performance Stage. JJ was working on the same thing, only with growlithe and marill, considering choosing the former for the Petalburg Contest.

"Alright guys, let's break for lunch!" Niko said, clapping his hands together as his team gathered. "You guys did great today! I think we'll easily beat Norman."

The team cheered as they all walked over to their campsite, where numel was sleeping next to Jake, who needed the rest as well.

"Poor kid is out cold…" Brittany said, observing her younger friend. "That zubat attack really messed up our sleep schedules, didn't it?"

"I don't think so. Plus, more walking later will tire us all out enough to sleep later, right?"

Brittany nodded as they all sat in the grass to eat alongside their pokémon. Suddenly, Niko's team all looked up in the same direction, as if they sensed the same thing.

"What's up, guys?" Niko asked, looking puzzled at his team. Then, suddenly out of nowhere, a small oddish popped out of the bushes nearby, followed by a wingull and a familiar black-haired woman. "Melinda…?"

"Oh!" Melinda said in shock and surprise. "Niko! JJ! Brittany! Jake! So _that's_ what oddish was smelling. The food!"

"Guess so. What's up? It's been awhile," Niko said in an attempt to reconnect with his rival. The last time they met was at the Trick House, where Melinda's longtime friend Nero proposed to her. The last image Niko had of her was her crying as she walked through the village they were staying in.

"Yeah, it has. How any badges do you have?" Melinda asked, sitting down next to her rival.

Niko reached for his badge case and showed her. "Four, just beat Flannery in Lavaridge Town. Now off to challenge Norman. What about you?"

Melinda raised a full five fingers. "Just beat Flannery too! I'm off to Fortree City actually for my sixth badge."

"Guess that's where we'll be headed after I win against Norman…" Niko said, turning to his friends, all of whom nodded in agreement.

"Norman's tough, just saying. He uses normal types, but do _not_ underestimate him, alright?" Melinda said, wagging a finger in Niko's face.

"Oh, trust me I can handle it. I've fought normal types several times, right guys?"

"Well, you did tie with Whitney, actually…" JJ said, recalling the last time Niko challenged a normal type gym leader.

"Not helping, JJ. Anyways, my team is much stronger this time," He said, looking over at his five pokémon (numel had woken up to the sweet scent of oddish).

"Oh, is this your team?" Melinda asked, moving her head to examine the five pokémon sitting in front of her. "Wow! A lairon? That's a really cool pokémon, Niko!" Lairon blushed at the compliment, which is the most expression Niko has seen on its face—besides pure exhaustion from running—since it evolved.

"Heh, thanks. Lairon was a huge help against Flannery, and hopefully Norman," Niko said, giving the iron armor pokémon a thumbs up. "How's your team looking?"

"It's good. I actually got a cool-looking fossil pokémon from Rustboro City. They revived a fossil I found up near Fallarbor Town, and I'm using it now."

"Oh wow!" Niko said, sounding rather impressed. "Can I see it?"

"I don't know, can you?" Melinda teased, winking. "Let's battle then, and you can see me use it!"

Niko smirked. "Alright Melinda, you're on. I've been meaning to rematch you again anyways. Pretty sure I can win this time!" He got up, as did his team, and without finishing their lunch he walked over to the open field they were near and summoned his electrike. "You're up first, buddy," Niko said as the lightning pokémon charged forward.

"Electrike, huh? Nice choice. Want this to be a two-on-two battle?" Niko nodded. "Alright then, anorith, you're up!" Melinda shouted, throwing out a pokéball containing a small anthropoid pokémon. Bemused, Niko pulled out his pokédex:

" _Anorith, the old shrimp pokémon. Rock and bug type. It was resurrected from a fossil using the power of science. It swims by undulating the eight wings at its sides. They were feet that adapted to life in the sea_."

"Wow, that's really cool, Melinda!"

"Isn't it?" She winked again. "You first!"

"Alright then, electrike, use spark!"

"Anorith, use mud sport!" Melinda commanded. As electrike shot sparks in the shrimp pokémon's direction, it retaliated with a burst of mud originating from its mouth, nullifying the spark attack.

"What?" Niko said, surprised.

"Mud sport reduces the power of electric moves!" Melinda exclaimed as anorith bathed itself in the mud. "Now anorith, use harden!" The rock type then coated itself in the hardened mud.

"Electrike, quick attack!" Niko shouted. The lightning pokémon burst forward, slamming its head into anorith. "Thunderwave!"

"Water gun!" Melinda commanded. Anorith shot a stream of water as the thunderwave hit. The collision of the two moves resulted in an explosion that propelled electrike backwards several yards, while it hardly seemed to faze anorith. "Now, harden again!"

"Electrike, can you keep going?" Niko asked. Electrike slowly got up and nodded, eliciting a smile from its trainer. "Great, then use howl and quick attack!"

Electrike raised its head and cried out loudly before shooting forward at anorith like a rocket. It collided once more with the hardened anorith, who used a metal claw and slapped electrike to the side, knocking it out.

"Electrike, return. You did good buddy, I'm proud of you. Well, Melinda, that anorith is pretty strong, I'll admit."

"You'll admit? I don't need your approval, Niko," Melinda said, winking again, which off-put her rival a bit. "But thanks. I too like it. What're you gonna use now?"

"This. Treecko, I choose you!" Niko commanded, summoning his wood gecko pokémon. "Use bullet seed!"

"Oh, I see you taught it bullet seed, too. Nice. Anorith, water gun!"

The two moves collided, but treecko quickly flanked to the right to get closer to anorith, jumping up in front of it and landing on its back.

"Treecko, use mega drain!" Niko shouted. The grass type grabbed onto anorith's back and began sapping its health. The old shrimp pokémon flailed about, trying to hit its opponent. It even tried shaking treecko off, but the wood gecko wasn't letting go. "Keep it up buddy! You can do it!" Niko cried out.

"Anorith, use harden!" Melinda shouted. Anorith tried to harden its body again, but treecko had drained too much energy from it.

"Finish it off with bullet seed!" Niko commanded. Treecko opened its mouth and fired a barrage of seeds at anorith's back, quickly defeating the old shrimp pokémon.

"Anorith, return. You did goo—oh my," Melinda said, looking at treecko, standing right in front of her, and glowing a bright white color. It grew to twice its size, expanded its red underbelly to just below its mouth, grew three leaves on the back of each of its hands as well as two leaves where its tail should be, and finally a long leaf running from the top of its head down its back. Niko pulled out his pokédex to view his new pokémon:

" _Grovyle, the wood gecko pokémon. Grass type. Leaves grow out of this pokémon's body. They help obscure a grovyle from the eyes of its enemies while it is in a thickly overgrown forest._ "

"Hah! Alright then, grovyle, let's win this battle!" Niko shouted, throwing a fist in the air.

"Grov!" Grovyle turned to its trainer and shot its claw into the air. As it did so, the leaves on its hand began to glow a bright green before disappearing just as quickly. "Grov?"

"Huh? What was that?" Niko asked aloud.

"Looks like leaf blade, Niko," Melinda responded, pulling out another pokéball. "It's grovyle's signature move I think. Anyways, pelipper, let's go!" The black-haired woman shouted, summoning a pelican pokémon with a massive yellow beak and relatively short wings—likely as large a wingull's. Once again, Niko pulled out his pokédex:

" _Pelipper, the water bird pokémon. Water and flying type. It skims the tops of waves as it flies. When it spots prey, it uses its large beak to scoop up the victim with water. It protects its eggs in its beak._ "

"Alright grovyle, let's win this! Use bullet seed!"

"Pelipper, dodge and use wing attack!" Melinda shouted. The pelican pokémon swerved to the right, evading the seeds, and dive-bombed the wood gecko pokémon, its wings glowing.

"Grovyle, block it with leaf blade!" Niko commanded. Grovyle's left arm blades began to glow bright green as it collided with pelipper's left wing. "C'mon, keep it up! You can do it!" Niko shouted. However, the green blade disappeared, and the wing attack collided with grovyle, knocking it over. "Get back up! Use bullet seed!"

"Pelipper, protect!" Melinda commanded as pelipper conjured a light protect bubble around itself, blocking the bullet seed. "Now, use wing attack again!"

"Grovyle, dodge and use leaf blade!" Niko commanded. Grovyle, despite having difficulty with its new move, was still just as fast as its prior form, and evaded the wing attack with relative ease. It then spun around and tried slamming its leaf blade onto pelipper, but the blade disappeared before it made contact, causing grovyle to crash into the grass below it. "Grab its talon and use mega drain!"

"Pelipper, fly back into the air and use wing attack again!" Melinda shouted. Pelipper dodged the mega drain and spun through the air, dive-bombing its opponent once more with glowing wings.

"Intercept it with mega drain!" Niko shouted, well aware of the risk he was taking. However, the wing attack hit just as grovyle prepared its mega drain, and the wood gecko was falling on its back before it could do any significant damage to its opponent. "Get back up! Use bullet seed!"

"Protect, pelipper!" Melinda commanded. The pelican pokémon created another protective shield as the seeds hit once more. "Now, use stockpile!"

"What?" Niko queried, watching as pelipper's beak began to glow a little. "Grovyle, use bullet seed!"

"Dodge and use stockpile again!" Melinda commanded. Pelipper dodged and flew down closer to grovyle. "Now, use swallow!" The water bird pokémon glowed briefly, indicating that it was healed. "Now, finish it off with wing attack!"

"Grovyle, dodge and use pound!" Niko shouted. Grovyle dodged and spun around again, like it did previously with leaf blade, only it slammed its arm atop pelipper's head, causing the pokémon to crash into the ground. "Now, mega drain!"

"Stockpile!" Melinda commanded as pelipper's beak began glowing once more. Grovyle grabbed onto it and began to drain its energy, but the pelican continued to stockpile. "Fly into the air and use swallow!"

Pelipper's health hung in a balance between losing and gaining it while it tried to shake grovyle off. On Melinda's command, it then shot straight up into the sky and dive-bombed back into the ground, stockpiling while it did so, and while grovyle was draining its energy.

"Flip over!" Melinda shouted. Pelipper turned upside down while it glided across the ground, essentially dragging grovyle along with it. "Now, swallow and crash!"

Pelipper's body began to glow. When it finished healing, it allowed itself to crash into the ground next to grovyle, who was severely weakened by the drop.

"Grovyle, get up!" Niko commanded. "Use mega drain!"

"Pelipper, wing attack!" Melinda commanded. Pelipper got back into the air with relative ease and dive-bombed its opponent at close range, defeating grovyle as it had just gotten back on its feet.

Niko rushed over to grovyle's side. "You alright buddy?" Grovyle looked up at its trainer and nodded. "I'm still proud of you, though. We just have to work on that leaf blade, alright?" The two then laughed for a moment as Melinda and pelipper walked over to them. "Hey, great battle!"

"Same to you. That grovyle doesn't like to give up, does it?"

"Guess not. That's my grovyle, though," Niko said, looking at his wood gecko pokémon admiringly. "Thanks for the battle, though. Say, want some food?"

"Sure, why not?" Melinda said, sitting down with the rest of the group as she ate and Niko and his pokémon finished their meal. The whole time, Niko was trying to study her facial expressions to get a better understanding of what happened back at the Trick House. He chose not to bring it up during this time, feeling that it was too soon. Maybe next time he saw Melinda, he might ask her about it, but he still hardly knew her, so it was inappropriate for more than one reason.

After a while she finished and got back up to take her leave.

"Well, it was good to see you again, Melinda," Niko said, holding out his hand.

"Likewise, Niko. Keep it up, I think you'll do just fine against Norman."

"And you'll do well in Fortree City," Niko said, smiling warmly. They shook hands, and Melinda and pelipper began walking off in the direction of Rusturf Tunnel, while the group packed up their things and continued west to make some progress before nightfall.


	29. Tender and tinder

**Episode 29: Tender and tinder**

A week after their encounter with Melinda, Niko and his friends finally made it to Petalburg City, just in time for the pokémon contest. They spent most of the trip walking, rather than training or preparing for the contest, but in the small time they did allot to this, Niko worked with grovyle on leaf blade and found it more difficult than he imagined. JJ's growlithe was finally able to nail down flamethrower, and Brittany's torchic was getting better with fire spin.

After healing up their pokémon and having a quick meal, the group walked over to the contest hall in the northwestern part of the city.

"So, Brittany, hoping to get your second ribbon today?" Niko asked.

"That would be great, actually," Brittany replied, looking up at the sky while holding pichu. "I think torchic has what it takes to help me win this one, too."

"Well, you'll have to beat me first, that's for sure!" JJ said, throwing a fist into the air and looking over at Brittany, who beamed at him amusingly.

"Well, I'm sure you'll do your best if you're against me," Brittany said with a wink.

They entered the Contest Hall and split off, with Niko and Jake heading to the stands and Brittany and JJ entering their names and pokémon into the contest. Moments later they were in the backroom waiting to get started. As they sat down on one of the benches, Brittany noticed a familiar auburn-haired woman walking in.

"Of course…" She muttered under her breath. JJ caught it, and looked up to see Madeleine walking around, connecting with the other coordinators who were fawning over her.

"Don't talk with her, Brittany. You don't want to get too worked up," JJ cautioned. Unfortunately, Madeleine did approach them.

"Oh, hello JJ, Brittany," The beautiful woman began, "I heard you won the Fallarbor Contest, no?"

"Yes, that's true," Brittany said, trying to avoid eye contact.

"You also know that no one enters that contest, right?"

"Well, clearly some people did," Brittany retorted.

" _Some_ people did, but clearly no challenges. JJ, hope you're well," Madeleine said as she walked away, leaving the two trainers sitting there, hoping that she would get knocked out in the Battle Stage before either of them had to challenge her.

"Hello everyone! Welcome to the Petalburg City Pokémon Contest! I am Vivian Meridian, and I will be your host for today's event. Now, for those unfamiliar with contests, I will run through them with you. There are two stages: The Performance and Battle Stages. In the Performance Stage, coordinators will show off the moves their pokémon know, and in the Battle Stage, they will show their moves in a battle—with style, of course!

"Now, let me also introduce our three judges: Petalburg City's very own Nurse Joy! Mr. Contesta, and Mr. Sukizo. They will rate the performances of each coordinator's style performance, and judge the battle only in the event of a tie or when one trainer's pokémon faints. And so, without further ado, let's bring out the first coordinator today! She's from Rustboro City, please welcome Madeleine!"

"Milotic, style up!" She said in her calm, mature tone, summoning a serpentine-like pokémon with a cream-colored body with long, hair-like fins above its eyes. Its lower body has a pattern of blue and pink diamond-shape scales. Its tail consists of four large, blue fins. Niko, enamored by this pokémon, pulled out his pokédex so he and Jake could take a look:

" _Milotic, the tender pokémon. Water type. It is said to live at the bottom of large lakes. Considered to be the most beautiful of all pokémon, it has been depicted in paintings and statues_."

"Wow, look at that, Jake," Niko said in awe.

"It's a really cool pokémon!" Jake commented.

"Milotic, use water pulse!" Madeleine commanded. The tender pokémon conjured a glowing ball of water and slammed it into the stage. "Now, twister!" Milotic then spun the exploding ball of water, creating a shimmering tornado of water. "Finish off with attract!"

Milotic finally sent pink hearts from its eyes that ran through the shining tornado, coming out the other end looking bright blue and polished. The hearts floated in the air around the crowd, eventually popping and ending Madeleine's performance.

Brittany's mouth was ajar. "How do we compete with that…" She asked dismally.

"We'll do it. Let's just hope we don't have to face her in the Battle Stage," JJ said as his name was called. "Well, that's me. See ya!"

"Good luck!" Brittany shouted as the curly blonde trainer ran off to the stage.

"And now our next coordinator is JJ from Pallet Town!" Vivian announced as JJ jogged on stage.

"Growlithe, let's go!" JJ shouted, summoning his puppy pokémon. "Use flame wheel and jump into the air!"

Growlithe began spinning forward, creating a wheel of fire as it bounced above the ground. JJ then commanded it to use flamethrower, which resulted in several streams of fire spitting out of the wheel in random directions. Growlithe then landed back on its four paws, ending the performance.

"Great job, buddy," JJ said, crouching down and whispering into the puppy pokémon's ear while petting the back of its neck. Growlithe yipped happily as it was returned to its pokéball. JJ exited the stage to greet Brittany waiting on the same bench.

"Wow JJ! That's why you wanted to learn flamethrower!" Brittany said.

"Yup!" The curly blonde said as he sat back down. "Now, let's see what you've got!"

Brittany was a few coordinators down the line, but eventually it was her turn when Vivian introduced her as a coordinator from Vermilion City.

While walking onto the stage, she summoned torchic and immediately started with her performance. "Torchic, use fire spin!"

The chick pokémon conjured a swirling tornado of fire around itself. Moments later Brittany commanded it to use attract, in an attempt to repeat her previous two performances. The hearts went in all directions this time, passing through the fire spin and immediately lighting on fire before extinguishing themselves in random spots in the air. Brittany finished, returning torchic after the fire spin disappeared, and walked to the backroom while the crowd applauded her.

"You did great, Brittany!" JJ said encouragingly.

"Thanks, JJ, I appreciate that," The brunette said as she sat down, ignoring Madeleine's quick glance in her direction.

The two trainers eagerly waited for the other coordinators to finish before Vivian announced the names of those who made it to the Battle Stage. As it turned out, they both made it, as did Madeleine: they were 3 of the 8 who made it out of a total of 12 coordinators. And, as it turned out, JJ would be facing Madeleine first, while Brittany was against a young boy from Lilycove City.

"For the first round of the Battle Stage, I want to welcome JJ from Pallet Town and Madeleine from Rustboro City!" Vivian announced as the two trainers walked up to opposing ends of the stage.

"Growlithe, let's go!" JJ commanded, trying not to look or sound intimidated.

"Milotic, style up! Use water pulse!"

"Growlithe, dodge the water pulse and use flame wheel!" JJ shouted, trying to ignore Madeleine's quick, almost silent laugh. The puppy pokémon attempted to dodge the water pulse, but failed and was dowsed in the water, causing it to whimper a little. "Growlithe, buddy, we can do this! Use flamethrower!"

"Milotic, twister!" Madeleine commanded. The tender pokémon conjured a strong, swirling wind that engulfed the drenched growlithe and carried it high into the air, eventually dropping it back onto the ground. "Now, use water pulse again!"

"Growlithe!" JJ stammered. He couldn't think of another move to use, and growlithe was hit with yet another water pulse, which brought his bar down to a dangerously low level. "Use…err…flamethrower!"

"Milotic, finish it off with hydro pump!" Madeleine cried out. Watching from the backroom, Brittany could see the cold fierceness in her eyes now. She knew she was going to win, and win easily.

The strong burst of water collided with the stream of fire, ultimately overpowering it and slamming into growlithe, sending the puppy pokémon hurtling towards its trainer. JJ got down to pick growlithe up, getting his clothes drenched as well.

"And it looks like Madeleine is the winner!" Vivian announced. "Next up is Brittany from Vermilion City versus Toby of Lilycove City!"

Brittany gave JJ a concerned look as they passed by each other, exchanging spots on the stage. She then met Toby—a short, black-haired boy in a t-shirt and jeans—stand opposite her.

"Torchic, let's go!" She commanded, summoning her chick pokémon.

"Whismur, I choose you!" Toby shouted, sending out a small, purple pokémon with a spherical body and large, yellow ears and stubby arms. "Use howl and screech!"

"Torchic, cover your ears!" Brittany commanded in hopes of shielding her pokémon from the raucous sounds emitting from the tiny pokémon. "Use fire spin and attract!"

Through the noise, torchic spit of a stream of fire that molded into a tornado around whismur, drowning out some of the sound, albeit not much though. Torchic then released pink hearts of varying sizes and sent them in whismur's direction, causing the pokémon to stop its screeching and howling and pay more attention to torchic. Toby turned to the monitor and saw his bar drop steadily, causing him to panic a little.

"W-whismur, use stomp!" Toby stammered. The whismur rushed forward and was about to attack torchic with its foot, but the attract took its toll, halting the whisper pokémon in its tracks. Rather than attack, whismur attempted to get closer to torchic and cuddle up to the fire type, which gave Brittany the clear advantage.

"Torchic, use ember and then scratch!" The brunette commanded. Torchic released several rounds of fireballs from its beak at its opponent, causing it to stumble back before getting hit with a scratch attack, knocking it over. "Now, finish it off with fire spin!"

"Chicccc!" Torchic cried out as it spit a fiery tornado at whismur, quickly disposing of it.

"Looks like whismur is unable to battle, and torchic is the winner! Brittany will be moving on to the second round of the Battle Stage!" Vivian announced as Brittany and Toby shook hands and walked off to the backroom together.

"I didn't think that attract would work…" Toby admitted as they entered the backroom.

"Well, at least you know what it can do to your whismur. Now you can come up with ways to counter it!" Brittany said joyfully, trying to encourage the young boy she defeated.

"Guess so. Great battle, anyways. Hope you win it all," He said before walking out of the other end of the backroom to the stands. JJ—who was only waiting for Brittany to return, as he was defeated and had no purpose to be there—approached his friend and congratulated her before also heading off into the stands to join Niko and Jake, leaving Brittany alone.

Moments later, Vivian announced the next two pairs in the Battle Stage. Luckily, Brittany wasn't challenging Madeleine this time. She was up against Robert from Lilycove City, the same one that beat JJ all the way back in their first contest in Slateport City.

"Our next match will be between Brittany from Vermilion City and Robert from Lilycove City!" Vivian announced. Brittany made quick eye contact with Robert, who nodded passively before sending out his pokéball.

"Delcatty, let's go!" He calmly said, summoning a larger cat than before, this time with bigger, pink ears and a tubular pink necklace-like object. "Use assist!"

"Torchic, fire spin!" Brittany commanded. The assist turned out to be silver wind, which allowed delcatty to conjure a light gray-colored wind that collided with the fire spin and seemed to hold its own. "Now, use ember!"

"Delcatty, sing!" Robert shouted this time. While torchic was spitting small fireballs at its opponent, delcatty belted out a beautiful tune that not only quickly put torchic to sleep, but it also nearly put the judges and some spectators to sleep as well. "Now, doubleslap!"

"Torchic! Wake up!" Brittany shouted, trying to plead with her fire type. "We'll lose if you don't!" She continued, eying the scoreboard for a moment and noticing that Robert's bar had yet to lose any points while hers was nearly halfway empty. Delcatty gracefully pounced over to torchic and slapped it in the face with its front right paw, knocking it back and forth without mercy. Eventually, the slaps woke torchic up, and it chose to continue using ember, this time at close range. Finally seeing Robert's bar lose points, Brittany saw her chance. "Torchic, use fire spin!"

"Delcatty, back away and use sing again!" Robert shouted. This time, however, the prim pokémon was engulfed in the flames, although the melody did make its way to torchic, briskly putting it back to sleep while delcatty took damage from the fire spin. It wasn't enough, however: once the fire spin dissipated, torchic was completely vulnerable. "Finish it off with doubleslap!"

The prim pokémon rushed forward and continuously slapped torchic, ignoring that it eventually woke up and tried to defend itself with ember. This "catfighting" eventually led to a significant decrease in both coordinator's bars, but Brittany's emptied first, giving Robert the win.

"Aaand Robert is the winner!" Vivian announced as Brittany shook her opponents hand and walked off to the backroom and then the stands to join her friends in watching the final round.

"You did good, Brittany," Niko said encouragingly. The brunette smiled, noting the compliment.

"Thanks, Niko. I could have done better."

"But you'll do better next time!" Jake said, giving the brunette a high-five.

Ultimately, the battle between Robert and Madeleine was a sight to see, with the latter ultimately winning. It was expected, though—Madeleine was from a family of coordinators, and so she likely trains and grooms her pokémon to be the absolute best in looks and combat.

The group exited the contest hall and decided to head back to the pokémon center. Niko resolved to challenge Norman the following day, giving him a little bit of time to train. With this in mind, the group finished eating and walked out to the battlefield to train with him. It didn't last long, however, as Niko felt more confident than ever that he could win against the Petalburg Gym Leader.


	30. Seeking balance

**Episode 30: Seeking balance**

"You ready?" JJ asked Niko as he walked around their room in the pokémon center. The brown-haired trainer nodded, trying to tidy up his hair, which was harder than one might expect.

"Yeah, think so. Normal types, right? Not sure what to expect, but I know that I can use any of my pokémon if I need to."

"Well, be careful. Normal types can be a problem. Remember miltank?" JJ asked.

"How could I forget?" Niko said, remembering the disastrous cow pokémon. "Anyways, let's go grab some food before the battle, right?"

JJ nodded, and the two walked out to meet Brittany and Jake, who were both well into their breakfast. They sat down and quickly ate their food, surprisingly both of their peers.

"Niko, you usually don't eat this fast…" Brittany said, referring to how her friend likes to talk during meals, which usually makes him the last one to finish.

"I just want to go battle Norman!" He said as he put his plate back down. "You all ready?"

The three other trainers nodded, and quickly enough, they were off to the gym, which was in the northwestern part of the city. As Niko entered the gym, he saw the same dojo as before, but no one was around. However, moments later a young man, a little older than Niko and JJ, popped his head from behind a door at the other end.

"Hello…?" He asked. He had short black hair and thick black glasses, and resembled Norman in some respects. "What can I do for you?"

"Hi, my name is Niko, and I'm here to challenge Norman?" Niko replied with slight caution. The young man mouthed a silent "ah" and retreated behind the door again. Moments later, Norman appeared with the boy in tow.

"Hey Niko!" Norman said, greeting his next challenger as if they were old friends. "How are you?"

"I'm doing alright, actually. I have four badges now, and I'm ready to challenge you for my fifth!"

"Ah, gotcha. Well, I'm just about ready. My son will be our judge today, and the match is going to be four-on-four. You have four pokémon, correct?"

"Indeed I do."

"Excellent. Well, let's get started then," Norman said as he walked over to the opposite end of the wooden battlefield, pulling out a pokéball. "My first: spinda, I choose you!"

Niko, shocked at how quickly Norman got ready to battle, hastily pulled out his own. "Grovyle, let's go!"

Moments later JJ, Brittany, and Jake were in the stands, the latter pulling out his pokédex to see what spinda was:

" _Spinda, the spot panda pokémon. Normal type. It is distinguished by a patterns of spots that is always different. Its unsteady, tottering walk has the effect of fouling its foe's aim_."

"Spinda, use psybeam!"

"Grovyle, dodge and use leaf blade!" Niko commanded. Since learning the move, grovyle had hardly improved on it, but Niko wanted to get a solid start on this battle, understanding that maybe he can't underestimate Norman. There had to be a reason he wanted Niko to wait until he attained four badges, after all.

The wood gecko pokémon evaded the beam of psychic energy before racing down the battlefield and spinning through the air, landing its arm on spinda's head. However, the blade quickly disappeared, and the spot panda wasn't affected by the attack.

"Use encore!" Norman commanded, forcing grovyle to repeat leaf blade, which Niko was unable to control.

"Grovyle, use mega drai—dammit, guess not," Niko said, clearly unprepared for this. Grovyle continued to use leaf blade, missing each time while spinda pelted it with psybeam after psybeam. Eventually grovyle was worn out enough that a psybeam send it hurtling across the field, but not defeated.

"Spinda, use teeter dance!" Norman commanded. The spot panda began dancing and staring into grovyle's eyes, confusing it in the process.

"Grovyle, use mega drain!" Niko shouted. Instead, the wood gecko ran its head into the ground out of confusion. "Grovyle, no! Snap out of it!"

"Spinda, use psybeam!" Norman commanded while grovyle started slapping itself. It got hit with the psybeam and quickly collapsed onto the ground, defeated.

"Grovyle is unable to battle, spinda wins!" Norman's son declared.

"Grovyle, return. You did alright, buddy. Numel, let's go!" Niko shouted, summoning his fire type. "Use ember!"

"Spinda, psybeam!" Norman commanded. The fireballs collided with the psychic energy and were quickly overpowered, causing numel to quickly take damage.

Niko bit his finger out of nervousness. _There's no way this guy is that difficult to beat. This is only the first of four…_ He thought to himself. "Numel, use magnitude!"

"Spinda, teeter dance!"

"Close your eyes!" Niko shouted again. Numel, listening this time, ignored the teeter dance and proceeded to shake the ground, which apparently only registered as a magnitude 5. Spinda, for the first time, rushed forward and used psybeam at close range, but Norman quickly found this to be a mistake, as numel fired off ember after ember, quickly overpowering the spot panda pokémon, which collapsed on its back, nearly on fire at this point. "Now, finish it off with magnitude!"

Numel cried out as it shook the ground again, ensuring spinda's defeat.

"Spinda is unable to battle, numel wins!"

"Spinda, return. Linoone, come on out!" Norman shouted, summoning his second pokémon. Once again, Jake pulled out his pokédex:

" _Linoone, the rushing pokémon. Normal type. It is exceedingly fast if it only has to run in a straight line When it spots pond-dwelling prey underwater, it quickly leaps in and catches it with its sharp claws._ "

"Numel, use ember!"

"Linoone, belly drum!" Norman commanded. While the normal type took the barrage of small fireballs, it got on its hind feet and began to smack its slender stomach. While it did so, it developed a slight burn on its right shoulder. Norman smirked—this is the moment he was looking for.

"Numel, use ember again!"

"Linoone, façade!" Norman shouted, throwing his hand out in a gesture. With breathtaking speed, linoone launched forward, slamming into numel and knocking it backwards. "Now, use slash!" The rushing pokémon's claws suddenly appeared, and numel felt a hard, long scratch on its side.

"Use magnitude!" Niko commanded. Numel shook the ground, but linoone hardly seemed fazed, as it used façade once again, slamming its body into numel's other side and repeating with slash. This time it knocked numel onto its side, which it could not get up from.

"Numel is unable to battle, linoone wins!" The judge declared.

Niko returned numel, now trying to think of what else he could use. _Lairon, taillow, electrike. Hm._ "Electrike, let's go!"

"Linoone, use slash!" Norman commanded.

"Electrike, dodge and use quick attack!" Niko shouted. The lightning moved quickly evaded the oncoming slash, and slammed its body into linoone's burnt shoulder with the intent of dealing more damage. It seemed to work, as the rushing pokémon retaliated with a façade, launching electrike across the field. "Use spark!"

"Linoone, façade!" Norman commanded. Linoone rushed forward at electrike before colliding with the electric sparks, knocking it several feet backwards.

"Electrike, use quick attack!" Niko shouted, throwing his hand out. The lightning pokémon rushed forward, landing the attack on linoone and nearly defeating it before getting hit with a final slash, bringing the electric type to its knees.

"Linoone is unable to battle, electrike wins!" The judge declared. "Norman will now send out his third pokémon!"

"Alright, Niko, you're doing better than I thought. But you will quickly realize you've underestimated the normal type. Slaking, I choose you!" Norman shouted, throwing out his third pokéball, containing a massive gorilla-like pokémon. Intimidated, Jake, JJ, and Brittany all crowded around a pokédex to see what this pokémon was:

" _Slaking, the lazy pokémon. Normal type. Hordes of slaking gather around trees when fruits come into season. They wait around patiently for ripened fruits to fall out of the trees_."

"Slaking, use yawn!" Norman commanded. The lazy pokémon opened its large mouth and released a yawn in the form of a tiny white cloud, causing electrike to yawn as well.

"Electrike, use spark!" Niko commanded. The lightning pokémon released a series of electric sparks at slaking, each of which hit, as the normal type didn't seem to resist the attack much. However, it did flinch slightly, which made Niko realize he may have paralyzed it. "Use spark again!"

Once Niko shouted this command, however, electrike had already fallen asleep.

"Slaking, use façade!" Norman shouted out. The lazy pokémon suddenly got up, slowed by the stun emitted by spark, and lumbered towards the sleeping electrike, only to slam its open palm into the pokémon, launching it into the side of the dojo. Without waking up, electrike was defeated.

"What…" Niko said in shock. "There's no way…" He returned electrike, thinking about how to proceed now. All he had left were taillow and lairon. Taillow would be useful since it could launch aerial attacks, at least until yawn hit. Lairon could take most hits, generally speaking, but he still had no idea what this thing was capable of. And then there was the question of Norman's fourth pokémon…

"Niko, you going to use another pokémon?" Norman asked, snapping his challenger out of his thought bubble.

"Oh, yeah, sorry about that. Lairon, I choose you!" Niko shouted, summoning his iron armor pokémon.

"Interesting choice, Niko. Let's see how you can fight this. Slaking, use yawn!"

"Lairon, harden and then dig!" Niko commanded. Lairon obeyed its trainer's command, hardening its body as it tried to dig into the wood floor, tearing it up in the process. "Oh, sorry about that, Norman…"

"It's no problem, Niko. We have people hired by the Pokémon League to come and help us out for things like these. Please continue," Norman said in a casual manner. Lairon then dug directly under slaking, but found it difficult to hit it hard enough to knock it into the air. "Slaking, use counter!"

Slaking looked at the iron armor pokémon under it and slammed its fist into lairon's face, knocking it through the hole and back out the other end. Luckily, the steel type was able to get back on its four feet, albeit with some difficulty. The lazy pokémon laid back down, watching its opponent intently.

"Lairon, go in for a headbutt, and follow up with a mud slap!" Niko commanded. The iron armor pokémon moved forward, surely slower than it used to, but nonetheless collided with slaking, slamming its head into the belly of the normal type and following up with a kick of some dirt nearby into slaking's face, which clearly angered the rather large pokémon.

"Slaking, use façade!" Norman commanded. The lazy pokémon got back up again and slammed its palm into lairon's face, knocking the rather heavy steel type back a few feet. Slaking then sat back down and waited to see what lairon would do next.

 _What's this pokémon's deal? It seems to sit back down every time I attack it…_ Niko thought before commanding lairon to use headbutt again. The iron armor pokémon slammed its head into slaking's body once again, only to be hit once more with counter, which was doing more damage to lairon than Niko had expected.

"Why the hell…lairon, use harden!"

"Slaking, now's our time! Use façade!"

"Lairon, headbutt!" Niko shouted. The two attacks—head meeting palm—collided, repelling each pokémon back a little. Lairon then rushed in for a final headbutt, but slaking slammed its fist into lairon's face, and followed up with an uppercut, which sent the iron armor pokémon tipping over onto its back. "Can you get back up, buddy?"

The answer turned out to be no.

"Lairon is unable to battle, slaking wins! The victory goes to Norman of the Petalburg Gym!" The judge declared.

"Thanks, son," Norman said before turning to slaking and returning it to its pokéball. "Niko," He began.

"Yes?"

"Do you know what badge I give out?" He asked.

"No sir, I don't," Niko replied honestly.

"The balance badge. The reason you lost is twofold: you seemed to underestimate normal types, and your battling showed no sense of balance. I want you to think about that, and come back to me when you understand what I mean."

Niko nodded. "Of course, Norman. Thanks," He said, returning lairon and exiting the gym, his friends in tow.

"Niko, are you alright?" Brittany asked, looking worried.

Niko shook his head. "I think I'm fine, Brittany. Really," He replied, understanding what his brunette friend might be referring to. "I guess I just have a lot of thinking to do, is all."

With that, Niko walked off down the road, his friends by his side, as they all began to ponder what Norman meant by "balance."


	31. Finding balance

**Episode 31: Finding balance**

After his loss to Norman, Niko spent some time the following night thinking about his previous match. Norman mentioned that he needed "balance" in his battling style. His team was balanced, nearly as balanced as it could be, he believed. The problem lay in _how_ he was battling, not _what_ he was battling with.

"So, the problem is with how I battle…dammit! What is he talking about!?" Niko yelled out loud, smacking the sides of his head with his hands. He was sitting outside the pokémon center that night, and no one was anywhere close enough to hear him talk to himself.

Or so he thought, because moments later he noticed someone sitting next to him. It was the judge for his battle with Norman.

"Oh, hey. You're Norman's son, right?" Niko asked, turning to the bespectacled young man.

"Yep! Name's Max," He said with a smile. "How are you?"

Niko sighed. "I'm alright, I guess. Usually I'm more upset about my losses, but this time I'm just confused. What did I do wrong?"

"Well, like Dad said, you're battling was off."

"But how? How do I need to improve to beat him?"

"Normal types are finnicky. They can be combined with virtually any other type, and learn moves from other types to make them more versatile. They don't have much going for them otherwise, which doesn't make them strong, but doesn't make them weak, either. You know what I mean?"

Niko nodded, thinking he understood.

"They have balance. They're called 'normal' for a reason. That's why Norman's badge is the _balance_ badge. It's also why he has a combination of fast and slow pokémon; and pokémon that hit from a distance and from a close range. Pokémon that bide their time and those that can't wait to attack. His team is balanced, not by type, but by style."

"So how do I beat that?"

"You have to counter each pokémon individually. I think you can figure out the rest from that," He stood up from the bench and looked up at the night sky. Niko did the same, and he could have sworn he saw a shooting star. "I knew a trainer once who went through each region, beating the gyms and challenging each league. He's a good trainer, and he had to learn balance eventually, too."

"How did he do?"

"He struggled against Dad at first, but he had no badges and only one pokémon. But when he attained four badges he beat the gym. On his first try, but it wasn't an easy win. He also used similar strategies to yours. Focuses a lot on speed."

"I've had to learn to focus less on it, given the pokémon that I have," Niko muttered, thinking of aron and numel.

"Yeah, so did he. Maybe not when I was travelling with him, but he did. He made the best of it. And so will you," Max then began walking away.

"Hey, Max," Niko said, causing Norman's son to turn around. "Thanks. I appreciate the advice."

"Always happy to help out other trainers. Battling isn't easy. You have to practice at it every day, and even when you think you've figured it all out, you'll still find more obstacles in your way. That's what happened with my friend, and with me. Anyways…you think you'll be ready by tomorrow?"

"I think so. I think I can figured this all out."

"Good. See ya," Max waved before turning around and walking into the distance, leaving Niko to his devices.

 _I have to counter each one individually…so let's break each one down into different groups. Slaking is slow and biding; linoone is fast and aggressive; spinda attacks from a distance and is pretty aggressive about it. What's his fourth pokémon? Maybe it's like slaking—slow? I'll assume that for now._

 _So which pokémon works against which? Obviously lairon wouldn't work against slaking. Maybe linoone? Electrike might work against spinda, since its more of a physical attacker. But there's that teeter dance. And façade…how does that work again? When its burnt or paralyzed? So lay off ember and spark. Got it. Okay then, so I could use lairon against linoone, electrike against spinda…maybe? Scratch that, let's focus on slaking. If lairon is out, then so is numel. Would grovyle work? It hasn't mastered leaf blade. But bullet seed is at a distance, and doesn't inflict a status condition, so that eliminates the need for façade. Counter would work, but slaking is slow. I just have to worry about yawn. Yeah, grovyle will work here. Spinda…numel can beat spinda. But then that leaves electrike with whatever his fourth pokémon is…_

* * *

Niko woke up the following day feeling better about his chances against Norman. Being the last one to wake up, he had a bit more alone time to gather his thoughts before meeting up with his friends for breakfast.

As expected, they were all sitting in a booth waiting for him.

"Niko, how late were you up?" Brittany asked, slightly concerned.

"One in the morning," Niko responded in a casual manner.

"You're not tired?" JJ asked, continuing the line of questioning.

"Nope. In fact, I feel pretty good!"

"Ready to challenge Norman again? You haven't done any training though…" Brittany said.

"Training won't help me here. I had a talk with someone last night, and they helped me work through it. I had to figure most of it out on my own, but he guided me."

"You think you can beat him?" Jake asked after finishing his breakfast. Niko nodded, smiling warmly at his brother. "Then let's go!" He said excitedly.

"Let Niko eat something first," JJ said, trying to calm down the younger boy.

"Hah, no its fine JJ. I'll just have a small snack. Jake's right—let's do this thing!" He said, getting up, grabbing a piece of fruit and walking out of the pokémon center, his friends in tow.

"Ah, Niko! You're back!" Norman said with a slightly bemused face. "That was rather quick. You think you're ready?"

"That seems to be the question of the day. But yeah, I'm ready."

Norman nodded. "Well, my son Max isn't able to judge today. He told me he'd rather spectate, so my wife Caroline will be helping me out. Same rules as yesterday. Got that?"

Niko nodded, pulling out a pokéball. Norman did the same while the rest of group (plus Max) got seated.

"Spinda, I choose you!" Norman shouted, summoning his spot panda again.

"Numel, you're up!" Niko said, more calmly than usual. "Let's start off with ember!"

"Spinda, psybeam!" Norman commanded. The two attacks collided in the middle of the field, which seemed to have been fixed since their last battle. "Now, use teeter dance!"

"Numel, close your eyes and use magnitude!" Niko shouted, getting more involved in the battle now. The numb pokémon obeyed again by shaking the ground under spinda's feet, causing its teeter dance to fail, as it had collapsed on its rear. "Ember again!"

"Psybeam!" Norman commanded.

Once again, the two attacks collided, but the amount of fire erupting from numel's mouth seemed to be increasing. It took Niko a moment to realize this, but for some reason the fire type was more energized. Instead of pondering the reason, he simply took advantage of this and commanded numel to use magnitude, which once again swept spinda off of its feet.

"Now use ember!" Niko shouted seconds later, and numel responded accordingly, pelting the spot panda pokémon with a barrage of small fireballs. Spinda got back up, albeit slowly, and was prepared to launch another psybeam when numel hit it with another ember, knocking it back down.

"Spinda, get up and use psybeam!" Norman urged his pokémon. Once again spinda stood back on its feet, but it didn't last long—the normal type fell forward, defeated.

"Spinda is unable to battle, numel wins!" Caroline declared.

"Spinda, return. You did great. Linoone, you're up!" Norman shouted, summoning his second pokémon.

"Numel, return," Niko said, surprising the gym leader and his friends; but not Max, who was sitting the stands, looking more impressed than surprised. "Lairon, I choose you!"

"Lairon, huh? I see…" Norman said, looking as if he was deep in thought now. "Fair enough. Linoone, use belly drum!"

"Lairon, harden!" Niko commanded. The iron armor pokémon got into formation, hardening its already solid exterior. Linoone then shot forward, ready to use a slash attack, and Niko and lairon were ready for it. "Use mud slap!" Lairon turned to its right side and kicked some dirt into the air, halting linoone's advances. "Now headbutt!" The steel type turned back to the injured linoone and slammed its head down and then up after making contact with its opponent, sending linoone into the air and across the field.

"Linoone, can you get up?" Norman asked, as his rushing pokémon stood up, albeit slowly. "Wow Niko, that headbutt is pretty strong, if you ask me."

"Thanks, I'm sure lairon appreciates that. Now, use dig!" Niko said, feeling better about his battle now.

"Linoone, be on the lookout for lairon. Move around a bit," Norman suggested. The rushing pokémon moved a bit, waiting for lairon to make its move.

"Now!" Niko shouted, and lairon dug up from behind linoone. "Use harden and then headbutt!"

"Linoone, slash!" Norman commanded. The attack landed, but due to lairon's hardened steel body, it was largely ineffective. The headbutt, on the other hand, sent the rushing pokémon hurtling across the room towards Niko.

"Dig again!" Niko commanded. Lairon crawled back into its hole and came up from under linoone, launching it into the air and following up with a headbutt, which easily defeated Norman's second pokémon.

"Wow, he's really doing well!" Brittany said, impressed by Niko's performance thus far.

"Yeah, he's definitely learned something…" Max said, pushing his glasses closer to his eyes.

"Linoone is unable to battle, lairon wins! Norman will send out his third pokémon!" Caroline stated.

"Linoone, return. Well Niko, can't say I'm not impressed here. You took what I said seriously—I appreciate that."

"I want to win, Norman," Niko stated bluntly, turning to lairon, who looked rather pleased with itself.

"Good, but keep in mind winning isn't always everything. Vigoroth, I choose you!" Norman shouted, sending out a sloth-like pokémon with a teardrop-shaped tuft of red fur on its forehead. It looked hungry for something—in a menacing sort of way.

"Vigoroth, huh?" Niko said, deciding not to switch out here. Maybe lairon could handle it? Meanwhile, Jake pulled out his pokédex:

" _Vigoroth, the wild monkey pokémon. Normal type. It can't keep still because its blood boils with energy. It runs through the fields and mountains all day to calm itself. If it doesn't, it can't sleep at night_."

"Vigoroth, use focus punch!" Norman commanded. Vigoroth simply stood there, its eyes closed. Given its pokédex entry, this was concerning.

"Lairon, use harden!" Niko said with caution. "We don't know what this thing can do; let's wait it out for a moment, alright?" Lairon nodded in agreement.

"That's a mistake, Niko," Norman said, crossing his arms, clearly aware of what was about to happen.

Vigoroth opened its eyes, a bloodthirsty look on its face. It shot forward at lairon, its claw glowing bright white, like it was using mega punch. It then slammed the claw into lairon's forehead, shooting the normally heavy pokémon backwards, nearly colliding it with Niko.

"What the hell?" Niko asked, turning to look at lairon, who was clearly damaged by this. "Lairon, can you keep going?" The iron armor pokémon nodded, but it was clearly in pain. "Alright, use dig!"

"Vigoroth, use faint attack to stop it!" Norman commanded. The wild monkey pokémon rushed again at lairon, halting its move and slamming its claw into the injured spot on its forehead. Lairon wailed out, trying to use harden to defend itself. "Now, follow up with focus punch!"

"Lairon, headbutt!" Niko commanded. The iron armor pokémon, through the pain, slammed its head into vigoroth's chest, disrupting its focus and knocking it over.

"Vigoroth, move further away!" Norman commanded. The normal type turned around and created distance from lairon. "Now, use focus punch!"

"Lairon, dig!" Niko commanded. Lairon dug into the ground, trying to get there as quickly as it could to stop the focus punch once more. However, it was still slow, and as it came up from under the wild monkey, it was met with another focus punch to the face, quickly defeating it.

"Lairon is unable to battle, vigoroth wins!" Caroline declared.

"Lairon, return," Niko said, now suddenly in thought. _What can I do now? I need to save grovyle for later. Should I use electrike to match its speed? Numel might work, too._ "Numel, come on out!"

"Vigoroth, don't underestimate this pokémon, alright?" Norman urged. The wild monkey nodded, eyes fixed on its new opponent. "Use slash!"

"Numel, magnitude!" Niko commanded. Numel began to shake the ground, in an attempt to knock vigoroth off of its feet. At first it seemed to succeed, but the wild monkey got back up and still ran at its opponent, as if ignoring the shaking ground. "Switch to ember!"

"Slash!"

Numel pelted vigoroth with fireballs, which the normal types slashed at to minimize its damage. Vigoroth then brought down its claw onto numel, dealing a significant amount of damage.

"Tackle!" Niko commanded.

"Encore!" Norman commanded, forcing numel to use tackle. "Now, use slash again!"

While numel attempted to tackle vigoroth, the latter spent its time slashing at its opponent. Numel kneeled to the ground, using magnitude as it did so. This time vigoroth fell to its knees as well, but quickly finished numel off with a final slash to the side.

"Numel is unable to battle, vigoroth wins!" Caroline stated.

"Return numel. I'm proud of you, buddy. You did well. Electrike, you're up!" Niko shouted, summoning the lightning pokémon. "Electrike, I'm counting on you here. Use howl!"

"Vigoroth, focus punch!" Norman commanded.

"Electrike, let's wait for this one. Let vigoroth come to you," Niko said, learning from lairon's defeat. By moving forward towards vigoroth, he gave the wild monkey the upper hand in attacking. By putting themselves on the defense, Niko and electrike could better anticipate where the focus punch would come from, and more easily dodge it.

A stalemate ensued for a minute or so, until vigoroth grew restless and rushed forward anyways, its claw glowing a bright white color.

"Electrike, wait for it…" Niko cautioned. Vigoroth suddenly got closer, and now was his time. "Dodge with quick attack!"

Electrike barely evaded the focus punch, which broke through the wooden floor of the battlefield. The lightning pokémon then turned back and slammed into vigoroth's side, launching it several feet to its right.

"Now, use spark!" Niko said, knowing fully well what it might do. Electrike's fur stood on end as it released electric sparks in vigoroth's direction. "Now, quick attack!"

"Vigoroth, slash!" Norman commanded. However, the wild monkey found itself unable to move. It was paralyzed. "Façade!"

Before Norman could issue the façade command, electrike had already slammed into vigoroth, using one final spark for good measure. The wild monkey collapsed on its back, defeated.

Niko let out a breath of fresh air. _Only slaking left…_

"Vigoroth is unable to battle, electrike wins!" Caroline declared.

"Return, vigoroth. Slaking, let's go!" Norman commanded, summoning his final pokémon. "Use yawn!"

"Electrike, quick attack!" Niko said, understanding that slaking doesn't attack half the time, decided to rush in and do as much damage a possible before it fell asleep. The lighting pokémon slammed into the lazy pokémon's stomach. "Now, use spark!"

While the spark didn't paralyze slaking, it did give it an opening to use counter on the drowsy electrike. Slaking slapped the lightning pokémon across the battlefield. Electrike was asleep by the time it landed.

"Electrike, return," Niko said. "You did good, buddy. But I think I've got this. Grovyle, you're up!" Grovyle launched onto the field, ready to fight slaking, who was lazily sitting on the ground. "Use bullet seed!"

Grovyle nodded as it fired several rounds of seeds at its opponent, clearly ticking off the lazy pokémon. Slaking got up, ready to rush forward and use counter. It lumbered up to grovyle and, as it was about to slap it, Niko commanded grovyle to leap out of the way and climb onto the normal type's back.

"Use mega drain!" Niko commanded. The wood gecko wrapped its arms around slaking and began draining its energy. The lazy pokémon cried out, flailing its arms behind its head in an attempt to throw grovyle off. Eventually the wood gecko jumped off and spun around, slamming its tail into slaking's back with pound.

"Slaking, use yawn!" Norman commanded. The lazy pokémon let out a deep yawn, but it didn't seem to effect grovyle, who was now behind slaking once again.

"Grovyle, bullet seed!" Niko shouted. Grovyle fired several more seeds at slaking's back, still irritating the normal type. Eventually it had had it—slaking turned around in a fury and slapped grovyle's left side, sending it rocketing into the stands nearby, and nearly defeating it with a single shot.

"Slaking, use faint attack!" Norman commanded.

"Grovyle, grab onto it and use mega drain!" Niko shouted, but it was too late. Slaking was soon upon its opponent and slammed its palm once more across grovyle's side, throwing it around the field like a rag doll. Grovyle got up, albeit slowly, and beamed at slaking. Niko knew the battle was coming to a close soon, even if he still had electrike.

"Slaking, use yawn!"

Niko let out a deep breath of air and turned to grovyle, who also seemed willing to take a risk at this point. "Grovyle, use leaf blade!"

The leaves on both of grovyle's wrists turned bright green, and the wood gecko rocketed forward, running into the yawn, leaping into the air, and spinning around, slamming both of its arms in slaking's face, and then landing on the other side, falling asleep quickly after.

But grovyle wasn't the only one that collapsed. So did slaking.

"Slaking is unable to battle, grovyle wins! The victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!" Caroline declared.

Norman returned slaking and looked over at Niko, who was eagerly trying to wake grovyle up. He succeeded, and moments later grovyle seemed just as excited as he did.

"Caroline, this is why I became a gym leader," Norman said, turning to his wife, who was looking upon Niko, his friends, and grovyle admiringly.

"He reminds us of Max and his friends," Caroline commented with a nod from her husband.

"Niko," Norman said, approaching his most recent challenger. "Congratulations. I believe you have earned this balance badge."

Norman held out a small gray and pink badge that looked like a barbell, with two circles looking as if they were counterbalancing one another. Niko took the badge, showed it to grovyle, and pocketed it.

"Thank you, Norman. I certainly learned a lot from this," Niko then turned to Max, who winked casually.

"I'm glad. Now, take what you learned and earn you final three badges! I want to see you go far in the Hoenn League!" Norman said, shaking Niko's hand.

"I plan to, sir. Right, grovyle?" The wood gecko nodded enthusiastically, and with a series of goodbyes, Niko and his friends walked out of the gym and back to the pokémon center, where they would plot the next leg of their journey.


	32. The river between west and east!

**Episode 32: The river between west and east**

In the immediate aftermath of Niko's rematch victory against Norman, the group took a break from their journey to walk around Petalburg City and decide on their next course of action. Melinda had mentioned that there was a gym in Fortree City and, looking at the pokédex, was in eastern Hoenn. Sitting down in a restaurant on the edge of a lake, the group plotted their journey.

"So, Fortree City it is then…" JJ said, placing the map on his pokénav in the middle of table for everyone to see. "So, we're here," He pointed to Petalburg City, "…and Fortree City is all the way up here."

"How long would that take us?" Brittany asked.

"No idea, maybe a couple weeks? We'll have to pass through Mauville City again, though, which I don't think is much of a problem, no?"

"Not really," Niko replied. "Gives us time to train and see more of the Hoenn region, right?"

"That's true. Maybe we'll see places that aren't deserts and volcanoes…" Brittany said sarcastically, eliciting a laugh from her friends, all of whom were equally tired of their desert adventure a couple weeks prior.

"So it's settled, then!" JJ said, clapping his hands. "To Mauville City, and then east to Fortree!"

"Got it!" Jake said, clapping as well. The group finished their lunch and went off to shop for supplies before making their way northeast. The trip to Mauville City would take a little under a week for them, and much of the road would be familiar to them, but they were nonetheless excited about seeing more of the Hoenn region.

The days along their trip seemed to pass by without many noteworthy events. Niko spent time training his pokémon as usual; grovyle was trying to perfect leaf blade, which was still having problems; taillow was now trying to learn aerial ace, a move that Niko had only seen once previously, and figured his swallow could make good use of; electrike was trying to learn shock wave, a more advanced version of spark essentially that sends multiple lightning bolts towards its target in a wave-like motion; numel was still adamant about not training; lastly, Niko was working with lairon on learning iron tail, as he figured it would be a good idea to help his pokémon learn a steel type move.

While they didn't know when their next contest would be, Brittany and JJ spent time working on their contest performances by teaching their pokémon new moves. Brittany was working with wartortle on rapid spin, with the idea that it might combine well with water gun and even skull bash. JJ was trying to work more with his shroomish, but the mushroom pokémon struggled in learning mega drain. Normally it wouldn't be a difficult move to learn, but the grass type wasn't feeling its best, and it took JJ longer than usual to figure this out. Meanwhile, his bayleef was working on learning synthesis, a move that it could naturally learn, and didn't have too much trouble learning otherwise.

One day, while camped out near Route 110, they were preparing dinner when Jake and his mudkip were training while trapinch and seedot watched.

"Mudkip, use rock smash!" Jake commanded, pointing to a nearby rock. The mud fish pokémon rushed forward and slammed its head against the rock, busting it into half a dozen pieces.

"Great job, Jake!" Niko said, patting his brother on the shoulder. "Your mudkip is certainly getting stronger."

"I think so, too!" Jake exclaimed. "One day I hope it can keep up with your venusaur!"

"But, venusaur is strong against water types, Jake," Niko said, confused.

"Yeah, I know," Jake responded, winking. "Alright mudkip, let's call it a day!"

Mudkip turned around and enthusiastically ran over to its trainer and teammates, all of whom began to eat their dinner eagerly. Niko smiled. He found himself doing that more often now, particularly when he watched how much Jake was enjoying his journey. That made it worth it, even if he would lose matches and not get anywhere closer to becoming a pokémon master, seeing Jake happy like this made him happy, too.

He sat down next to JJ, who was scarfing down his food beside bayleef and growlithe, both of whom seemed to be competing to see who could match JJ. To his left sat Brittany, who was giving some of her food to pichu, who was hungrier than usual. Torchic, tangela, and wartortle all seemed to be eating peacefully, but pichu was the most restless one of the group, and naturally so. It still was and felt like a baby, and Brittany continued to treat it as such, holding it in her arms like she did all the way back in Johto. It hardly had any battling experience, but that didn't matter too much. It seemed to be enjoying the journey, kind of like Jake was. And, most importantly of all, Brittany loved her pichu. Like with Jake, that kind of relationship made everything worth it.

The brunette then noticed Niko staring at her and pichu and looked up. "What's up Niko?"

"Oh, nothing. Just watching your pokémon."

"Are they doing anything odd?" Brittany cocked her head to the side slightly.

"No, just observing!" Niko said with a grin. Brittany nodded and got back to pichu while Niko continued to ponder.

He watched his five pokémon, both individually and together. They all seemed to get along well, even with numel. It made him wonder a few things. One—how _does_ he end up choosing pokémon like this? Niko really gave this thought consideration. Thinking back to the circumstances in which he caught these five pokémon, he realized he really only battled two of them—numel and taillow, and he hardly battled the former. The other three—grovyle, lairon, and electrike—were all pure happenstance, especially the latter two. _Why is that?_ He thought. Two—how will any of these pokémon react to the ones he has back at home in Kanto? Niko figured that they'd all get along just fine, but it was still a thought worth considering.

"Niko? You alright?" JJ asked, waving his hand in front of his brown-haired friend.

"Oh? Yeah, I'm good. Thanks, JJ," Niko said, smiling earnestly. "Just zoned out, I guess."

Niko finished his dinner and went off to bed around the same time as his friends, allowing his pokémon to sleep outside of their pokéballs this time. Before falling asleep, he noticed taillow was perched atop numel's hump, and grovyle was leaning against lairon with electrike at its feet. It was oddly beautiful to see the five pokémon at such peace with one another, he thought.

* * *

A couple days later, the group made it to Mauville City to stock up on supplies. Their next leg would take them directly to Fortree City, with a few smaller towns along the way. Roughly, though, the journey would take about a week and a half, since it was mostly a northern trek. JJ also noticed that the weather up north was finnicky and, with Brittany's help, managed to find jackets for each person. Even though Niko already wore a maroon sweater most of the time—with obvious exceptions—he opted to wear the blue and black jacket over to protect from possible rain.

"Alright guys, I think we have enough…" Niko said as he began approaching the cashier.

"You never know!" Brittany replied.

"You're right, but we'll still make it to other towns along the way."

"We shouldn't have to rely on those, though," Brittany retorted, frowning slightly.

Niko sighed. "Alright, sorry for bringing it up."

Brittany smiled, sticking her tongue out a bit as they paid for everything, packed it into their bags, and prepared to leave Mauville City.

As they were going, once again they saw a familiar face. Like last time, he was sitting on a bench with a different kind of pokémon. It looked like ralts, but it was slightly larger and bore a resemblance to a ballerina.

"Wally?" Niko asked, getting the green-haired boy's attention.

"Niko! Wow!" Wally said, getting up. The ralts-like pokémon followed behind him. "Wh-what are the chances?"

"Pretty close to none! How are you?" Niko asked, patting Wally on the shoulder. The young trainer was slightly under a head shorter than his rival, but Niko felt like he was speaking at the same height as Wally.

"I'm doing pretty good, actually. On my way back to Petalburg to challenge Norman. How about you?"

"Just beat Norman. We're on our way to Fortree City for my sixth gym battle!" Niko said, pulling out his badge case to show the balance badge and the four ones previous.

"Cool!" Wally said admiringly. "Kirlia, look! That's the badge we're going for next!" The pokémon—kirlia—looked into the case with awe.

"So is this your ralts?" Niko asked curiously.

"Well, ralts evolved into kirlia, not long after we last met!" Wally said.

"It's a really cool looking pokémon!" Niko said, pulling out his pokédex:

" _Kirlia, the emotion pokémon. Psychic type. A kirlia has the psychic power to create a rip in the dimensions and see into the future. It is said to dance with pleasure on sunny mornings_."

"Hey, Wally, would you like to battle? I kinda want to see this kirlia in action," Niko suggested.

"Err, of course, Niko!" Wally said, suddenly brightening up a little more. "Two on two, like last time?"

"Works for me!" Niko said, and the five-trainer group walked out of the city and east towards Route 118. They stopped at the edge of a large river—a perfect setting for a battle. "Now Wally, don't let up on me, alright? Bring it!" Niko said as he brought out a pokéball.

"You got it, Niko! Roselia, I choose you!"

"Numel, let's go!" Niko shouted, summoning his fire type. "Use ember!"

"Roselia, grasswhistle!" Wally commanded. Roselia held one of the roses up to its mouth and blew into it, creating a beautiful melody that instantly put numel to sleep, allowing roselia to rush forward and pelt numel with magical purple leaves and launch a leech seed under it, gradually sapping the numb pokémon's health.

"Numel, wake up!" Niko shouted, but he realized it was useless. Numel would wake up when it wanted to. He bit his finger, watching the roselia launch attack after attack. Eventually, he had it. "NUMEL YOU'LL WAKE UP RIGHT NOW!" Brittany, JJ, Jake, and even Wally all stared their friend down, looking at him as if he had lost his mind.

Numel woke up, noticed the roselia continuously attacking it, and began shooting ember after ember at the thorn pokémon, eventually hitting it and lighting it on fire.

"Numel, use magnitude!" Niko shouted, throwing a hand out as a gesture. Numel shook the ground under it and, although the attack was weaker due to the sandy beach they were next to, it still managed to defeat the roselia. "Good job, numel. Proud of you."

Numel didn't look back, but Brittany did notice a slight smirk on its face.

"Roselia, return," Wally said. "Wow, that numel is tough!"

"Yeah, if it would only listen when we're not in battle, it'd do just fine," Niko replied.

"Well, kirlia, let's go!" Wally said, looking down at his psychic pokémon, who pranced onto the field. "Start off with calm mind!"

Kirlia closed its eyes and stood completely still, waiting for the right moment to begin attacking. Numel launched embers from a distance, and the kirlia simply teleported away from each one, ultimately reappearing in front of numel.

"Now, use psychic!" Wally commanded. Kirlia's eyes began to glow as it picked up numel and tossed it into the river, knowing fully well that its weak to water.

"Numel!" Niko shouted as numel—who obviously cannot swim—struggled in the swallow end of the river. Panicking, Niko rushed in after it, dragging the numb pokémon out instead of returning it to its pokéball. "You okay buddy?"

Numel, wet and pissed off, nodded before turning back to kirlia and viciously shaking the ground under it. Like before, the attack hardly did anything, and so numel followed up with a barrage of embers.

"Kirlia, double team!" Wally commanded. The emotion pokémon multiplied itself and all used calm mind. "Now, use psychic!"

All of the copies' eyes glowed, and numel was shot into the air like a rocket and thrown back down into the sand, defeated.

"Numel, return. You did great. Grovyle, let's go!" Niko said, summoning his trusty wood gecko pokémon. "Use mega drain!"

"Kirlia, teleport!" Wally commanded, "And then psychic!"

"Grovyle, wait for it…" Niko said calmly. Grovyle eased itself for a moment, casually looking around for where kirlia could be. Suddenly, it appeared immediately behind grovyle, who turned at lightning-fast speed and grabbed kirlia by the shoulder, quickly sapping its health. "Now, follow up with leaf blade!"

The wood gecko's arms began to glow a bright green as it spun around and slapped kirlia in the head with each glowing arm. The emotion pokémon fell to the side, nearly defeated.

"Kirlia, psychic!" Wally commanded.

"Grovyle, finish it off with pound!" Niko commanded, realizing another leaf blade might be too much to ask for. The grass type spun around again and slapped kirlia with its twin tails, knocking the pokémon out before it could use another psychic move.

Wally rushed over to kirlia and picked it up. "Are you alright?" Wally pleaded until kirlia opened its eyes and smiled at its trainer. "Oh, thanks! You did great, kirlia!"

Niko grabbed Wally on the shoulder. "You're getting better, Wally. I can't wait to see you at the Hoenn League."

"You think I'll make it?" Wally asked in surprise.

"I know you'll make it," Niko said, smiling sincerely.

"Alright, I'll do it!" Wally said, suddenly fired up with determination. "And I'm going to beat you there, too!"

"Well, we'll see about that. Do you need help getting back to the pokémon center?"

Wally shook his head. "No, I think I'll be fine from here. Thanks, though!" Wally was about to walk off when he turned back to Niko. "And thanks for the battle. Roselia and kirlia both appreciated it, I think."

Niko nodded. "Same to numel and grovyle. We can always use the practice!"

Wally smiled and turned back towards Mauville City, while Niko and his friends turned towards the river, which cut down the middle of Hoenn, and symbolized the halfway mark of their journey as they entered eastern Hoenn.


	33. Getting the scoop on Niko and JJ!

**Episode 33: Getting the scoop on Niko and JJ!**

"So, uh, how are we going to cross this?" JJ asked, looking ahead at the massive river in front of them. He felt a tap on the shoulder as Niko pointed to a bridge that took them across. "Oh, eheh…right."

The group moved along the bridge and onto Route 118, walking along the edge of the river up north. They did this for an hour or so before they noticed two young adults walking in their direction, looking dour. One of them had a microphone in her hand, and the other a video camera in his. The woman was wearing white pants with a teal vest and had short brown hair. The man was wearing a simple t-shirt and jeans with a cap on backwards.

Moments later the man looked up, saw the four trainers, and nudged his partner. She perked up and squealed slightly at the sight of the group.

"Trainers! Ty, we found some!" She exclaimed, "Hey! You four!"

"Hi?" JJ said bemusedly.

"You're trainers, right?"

"Yeah, all four of us. Why?"

"Can we interview you?" The woman asked, holding her wireless microphone out.

"Who _are_ you?" JJ asked, looking concerned.

"I'm Gabby, and this is Ty. I'm a reporter from Hoenn TV, and every week we interview trainers from all over the region. Would it be okay if we interviewed you all?"

"Uh…I don't know. What do you guys say?" He turned to his three friends. JJ shrugged, Jake nodded, and Brittany shook her head. "Then no, sorry."

"Oh c'mon!" Gabby exclaimed, running the microphone up to Niko. "Pleeeeeeeease?"

"Not all of us are comfortable doing it," Niko answered sternly.

"We don't _have_ to interview all of you, though," Gabby said, pulling the microphone away from Niko, sounding and looking sterner herself. Ty pulled the camera down from his eye and also looked at Niko sternly.

"Do you battle professionally, kid?" Ty asked.

"I'm currently challenging gyms, why?"

"Well, how about this: two of you have a double battle with me and Gabby. If we win, we get to interview you. If we lose, then we'll leave. Sound good?"

Niko looked to his friends and nodded. "Let's do it. Who wants to battle with me?"

"I'll do it," JJ said, stepping forward. "You're on!"

Gabby smirked. "Alright then, it's a two-on-two double battle!" She put her microphone in her pocket and pulled a pokéball from the other. "Ready when you are!" She said, winking.

"Got it. Electrike, I choose you!" Niko shouted.

"Umbreon, let's go!" JJ commanded. The two pairs of trainers were at a reasonable distance from each other when they began their battle. Gabby sent out a loudred, and Ty summoned magneton, thus beginning the battle. "Umbreon, use faint attack on loudred!"

"Electrike, quick attack on loudred!"

"Uh wait, Niko, shouldn't we attack different trainers?" JJ suggested.

"Well, it's not like electrike can do much to magneton! Your umbreon knows dig!" Niko replied, not even turning to look at his partner.

"Whatever you say," JJ said as umbreon and electrike both landed their attacks, but magneton's shock wave hurtled the moonlight pokémon across the field they were in. "Umbreon, use dig!"

"Electrike, use spark on loudred!"

"Loudred, supersonic on umbreon!" Gabby commanded.

"Magneton, sonicboom on electrike!" Ty shouted. All four attacks went into action, with supersonic hitting umbreon first, causing its dig to miss. Electrike used spark but was blown back by the sonicboom. It rolled across the field towards its trainer, who commanded it to use quick attack on loudred.

"Umbreon, faint attack!" JJ commanded. The dark type did use faint attack—but not on its intended target. It slammed into electrike midway through the latter's quick attack, causing the two pokémon to collapse into a pile on the ground.

"Magneton, use thunderwave!" Ty shouted while loudred used stomp, the thunderwave not affecting it. Umbreon and electrike were temporarily stunned while the two pokémon exchanged a series of attacks on them—stomp, sonicboom, or spark. Once they were done, the lightning and moonlight pokémon could hardly get up.

"Umbreon, shadow ball on magneton!" JJ commanded. However, the dark type was still confused, and instead it slammed its head into the ground while electrike tried to use spark on loudred and missed.

"JJ, keep attacking magneton!" Niko shouted.

"What do you think I'm DOING?" JJ shouted back angrily.

"Stop yelling, JJ, it's not necessary," Niko said, also angrily. "Electrike, use quick attack!"

"Loudred, stomp on electrike!"

"Magneton, sonicboom to stop it!" Ty commanded. The wave of sonic energy slammed into electrike, causing it to stop abruptly and collapse in the dirt under it. Loudred ran up and slammed its foot on the side of the lightning pokémon. "Finish it off with sonicboom!"

"Loudred, astonish!" Gabby commanded. Both moves hit, causing electrike to faint.

"Return, electrike," Niko said, frowning as he watched JJ try to take down both of them.

"Umbreon, faint attack on loudred!" The curly blonde commanded. The move landed successfully, but the moonlight pokémon was hit by another supersonic and a spark, which crashed it into the ground. Loudred then followed up with a stomp, and magneton with a sonicboom, defeating umbreon as well.

"Well kids, we won!" Gabby shouted. "Who wants to interview?"

"Should be Niko here, he obviously knows what he's doing all the time," JJ said bitterly as he returned umbreon to its pokéball.

"What the hell are you talking about, JJ?" Niko replied, throwing his hands slightly into the air out of confusion. "I didn't cause us to lose."

"Well, electrike fainted first, so you definitely did," JJ said.

"Why are you two getting so worked up about this?" Brittany asked, physically coming in-between her two longtime friends. "There's no reason for this. Let's just get the interview over with and keep moving on, alright?"

"Fine," Niko and JJ both said, turning back to Gabby and Ty.

"Perfect. Now, what are your names and where are you from?" Gabby asked, holding out the microphone as Ty held the camera to his eye.

"I'm Niko, and this is JJ. We're both from Pallet Town."

"Pallet Town, eh? What brings you here to the Hoenn region?"

"Well, we both enjoy the adventure of it. We travelled through Kanto and Johto while I and another friend of mine challenged the gyms. And that's what I'm doing here in Hoenn."

"Excellent. And how many gyms badges do you have so far?"

"I have five, going for my sixth in Fortree City," Niko responded.

"Perfect, perfect. And what about you, JJ? Niko is challenging gyms, what are you doing other than walking around with your friends?" Gabby queried, pushing the microphone in JJ's direction.

"I want to become a pokémon breeder, but lately I've also participated in a few pokémon contest with our friend Brittany."

"Pokémon contests? How interesting. You must have some incredible stories to tell."

"Not really. Brittany is the real star in our group when it comes to that," JJ said, smirking a little.

"This is good, this is good! So tell me boys, what makes you so interested in travelling? Why are you out here, seeing the world, instead of being back in Pallet Town? You must have friends and family that miss you incredibly."

"We also have pokémon that miss us," Niko quipped. "But yeah, we both have family back home and I'm sure they miss us, and we miss them, but we do all of this because it allows us to see the world. We get to meet new people, new pokémon, and see different ways of training and raising pokémon. I've learned more from my adventures than I ever did in school. I also wouldn't have met some amazing people, like Brittany, for example."

"You both seem to talk highly of this Brittany person. Tell me, is there any romantic interest there?"

"No," Both Niko and JJ said bluntly, causing Brittany (who wasn't in the camera's view) blush a little, given her history of feelings towards one of them.

"Ah, I see. Have a special someone at home, then?"

"No," Niko replied.

"Kind of," JJ also replied, hesitating a little bit. Was he still with Maizie? If not, where did they stand? Niko certainly didn't know the answers to these questions, since JJ hardly brought it up. In fact, Niko doesn't remember JJ ever even calling Maizie while they were in Hoenn.

"Kind of?" Gabby repeated. "Why is that?"

"Long distance relationships aren't easy," JJ responded, looking nervous. Niko then stepped in.

"He's with a girl from Johto and they're very happy together, thanks," He said, halting Gabby's progress on this issue. The reporter puffed a little before continuing.

"Well then, I don't have any other questions, is there anything you want to say?"

Niko and JJ turned to each other. Even though they were still not happy with their battle, they seemed to be thinking the same thing. Nodding, they turned back to Gabby.

"We'd like a rematch," Niko said. "Same pokémon."

Gabby looked at Ty, who nodded. She also nodded, and turned off her microphone while Ty turned off his camera, and the two got back into position while umbreon and electrike ate some berries to heal themselves up.

"Alright, JJ," Niko said quietly, turning to his friend. "You attack magneton, I'll get loudred. Does that sound fine to you?"

"Yeah, sure. And, Niko…sorry for yelling at you. Wasn't right, we should have communicated better."

"Completely agree," Niko said, holding his hand out. JJ clasped it, and they turned back to look at their opponents, whose pokémon were already out and ready to go. "Electrike, you ready buddy?" The lightning pokémon nodded. "Perfect, use quick attack on loudred!"

"Umbreon, dig on magneton, quickly!" JJ commanded while magneton used sonicboom on electrike and loudred used supersonic on umbreon. Both attacks missed this time, and electrike slammed its head into loudred, knocking it over and following up with spark, which temporarily stunned the pokémon. Meanwhile, umbreon launched out from under the ground and slammed into magneton, sending it higher into the sky as it followed up with a shadow ball, landing directly under the magnet pokémon.

"Electrike, use spark!" Niko shouted, throwing his hand out as a gesture. The spark once again hit loudred, who responded with astonish, knocking the lightning pokémon backwards. Loudred then used supersonic, to confuse electrike. The lightning pokémon ran around aimlessly, crashing into umbreon and even Niko at one point.

"Niko! You have to calm down electrike!" JJ said desperately, as the electrike type accidentally hit umbreon, nearly knocking it out on accident. "Umbreon, dig again on magneton!"

Niko saw electrike running in his general direction, and jumped into its path, catching the lightning pokémon. "Hey, buddy, it's me! Niko!" He said in an encouraging tone. "You have to snap out of it, electrike! We have to win this fight, you and me! You, me, and JJ! All of us and umbreon!"

Electrike shook its head and looked up at Niko as if it were reuniting with a long-lost friend. Then suddenly, it began to glow a bright white color and grow to twice its size, turning from a green and yellow fur pokémon to one with sky blue and yellow fur. The new pokémon also had a longer yellow mane that pointed upwards on its head in a triangular shape. It also had yellow tufts of fur in a spiked formation above its hind legs. Niko pulled out his pokédex.

"Ty! You have to get this!" Gabby said, slapping her co-worker's shoulder.

"I've got it, I've got it!" Ty said, turning on the camera and setting it up to his eye to watch the evolution.

" _Manectric, the discharge pokémon. Electric type. Because lightning falls in their vicinities, manectric were thought to have been born from lightning. In battle, they create thunderclouds_."

Niko turned from his pokédex, back to manectric, and then to Gabby and Ty. "Let's finish this, JJ. Manectric, use spark!"

JJ, suddenly feeling fired up as well, nodded. "Umbreon, faint attack on magneton!"

"Magneton, use spark!" Ty commanded, but the attack redirected from umbreon to manectric. "What?!"

"Ty, manectric's ability is lightningrod. Loudred, use supersonic!" Gabby commanded just as her pokémon got hit with a spark and, moments later, a quick attack from the newly evolved discharge pokémon. "Dammit! Loudred, use howl and stomp!"

"Manectric, howl and quick attack!" Niko commanded. Both pokémon howled loudly while magneton and umbreon exchanged attacks. Then, Niko and Gabby's pokémon rushed at each other, with the discharge pokémon hitting first, causing loudred to collapse on its back. "Finish it off with spark!"

"Umbreon, dig!" JJ commanded. The moonlight pokémon dug into the ground and hit magneton just as manectric hit loudred, knocking both pokémon out simultaneously.

Gabby and Ty returned their pokémon, stunned. "Wow, that was incredible, kids," Gabby said, approaching the two trainers and their pokémon while turning on her mic. "We're back again after battling these two young trainers. And what a battle it was, folks! Midway through the battle, Niko's electrike managed to evolve into manectric and turn the tide of battle! Now, JJ, Niko, how did that battle feel to you?"

"Well, Gabby," Niko said, turning to his curly blonde friend. "It felt natural. I'm at my best when I feel connected with my pokémon, and when they understand that we're in this together. I guess that also applies to double battles. I knew JJ was in this with me to the end, and so we synced quite well, I'd say."

JJ nodded. "Agreed."

"Niko, JJ, it's been an honor then. Best of luck in your futures, and we hope to interview you again soon!" She said, turning off the microphone. "Seriously though, great interview, and two great battles. Thanks for helping us out."

"No problem, Gabby," Niko said. "I think we all got something out of this."

"Certainly. You see, we hardly get people that want to interview. Something about them not wanting to be on TV, you get it? I don't understand that mentality, personally, but either way, I'm glad we talked to you two."

"Same," Ty, who had hardly said anything at all, said. "You really gave us some good footage, especially that evolution, Niko,"

"Heh, yeah, that's my manectric for ya," He said, petting the side of the discharge pokémon's mane. Manectric closed its eyes and seemed to be at peace.

"Well, if there isn't anything left to say, we'll be off. Thanks again!" Gabby said, motioning for Ty to follow. He did, and minutes later the two were out of sight.

"Wow, what a day…" Niko said, thinking about all they've done that day, and all the progress they've made. Brittany and Jake, who sat back and watched the whole thing, got off the ground and continued on with Niko and JJ towards Fortree City.


	34. The mystery of Air Lock

**Episode 34: The mystery of Air Lock**

The road to Fortree City was long and arduous as expected. The group found it difficult to train due to the constant rain on Route 119, which took them north to their next destination. In what little training they did get in, most of it was focusing on new moves. Niko learned that the next gym would focus on flying types, and so he made sure manectric could release its electric moves as fast as possible, as well as focusing on taillow learning aerial ace. However, like with double team, aerial ace proved to be more difficult than either Niko nor taillow had originally intended.

Knowing how flying types typically battle, Niko began to put together a potential battle plan. But he couldn't practice much due to the rain. Brittany and JJ found themselves in the same position when it came to preparing for their next contest. They found it particularly difficult when they were trying to train their fire type pokémon when it began to rain unexpectedly…over and over.

After several days in the rain, the group began to get antsy, particularly JJ and Jake. Niko, who liked the rain but preferred to not constantly be in it, also found himself a little irritable. Brittany seemed to be the only one who was truly enjoying the weather. Since she grew up in a port town where the climate was relatively constant for most of the year, any change in weather was good enough for her.

"JJ, how much further until we get to Fortree City?" Niko asked during dinner one evening.

The curly blonde young man pulled out his pokénav—which was slightly damp—and turned on the map function. "Couple days at this point. We're near something called the Weather Institute."

"What the Weather Institute?" Niko responded.

"It's a famous building here in Hoenn that keeps track of weather conditions throughout the region. It was especially useful during the battle with Groudon and Kyogre several years back," JJ explained, the rain pouring outside of their small cave.

"Sounds cool, how far is it?" Brittany asked.

"We can make it there tomorrow."

"Let's go, then!" Jake, who was always interested in science-related things, suggested.

Niko nodded. "I'm in. Who knows, maybe we'll learn something there!"

The following morning, the group packed up and left their small cave entrance and continued their trek up north. It was a sunny morning, and the ground was still very wet from the storm the previous evening, but they marched through it, feeling better now that they had something else to look forward to—visiting the institute.

Hours later, they made it to the Weather Institute after taking a slight detour westward (when they should have been travelling eastward across another massively long and wide river). Niko approached the front door and, as he was about to knock on it, noticed it open on its own.

"Automatic doors…nice," JJ said with surprise, as if he had never seen an automatic door before. The group continued in, noticing the hallway in front of them that led to dozens of other rooms. As they walked through the institute, they peeked in to some of the rooms to get a quick look at all the machinery.

"May I help you?" A blonde woman with a lab coat on asked, nearly scaring the young trainers.

"Oh! No, we were just taking a look around," Niko said.

"Visitors aren't allowed without a permit or an appointment," She continued sternly.

"It's fine, professor, they're with me," A voice lazily said. The group looked up to see Zinnia walking down the hall with a whismur at her side. "Hello, Niko, JJ, Jake, Brittany. Long time no see."

"Zinnia, what are you doing here?" Niko asked.

"Research. What are _you_ doing here?" Zinnia asked, equally as stern as the blonde professor.

"Checking this place out."

"Excuse me, Zinnia," The professor interrupted. "Are they really with you?"

"Yes, they are."

"Very well then. Follow me," She said, walking back down the hall and up a flight of stairs. They eventually reached a large command room that had machines and wires of all shapes, sizes, and colors surrounding the walls of the room. "So, remind me again what you want here, Zinnia?"

"Professor Hale, I am interested in understanding more about Rayquaza's ability, and what effects it has on the weather, both at a regional and global level," Zinnia said, crossing her arms and walking up to the professor.

"Is that all?" Professor Hale asked, a brow raised.

"And anything related that you might be able to tell me," Zinnia responded, ignoring the group behind her.

"Very well, then," Professor Hale said, hesitating slightly. "As you're probably aware, Rayquaza's ability—at least in battle—is called Air Lock. What that does it negate any possible weather effects, like sunny day, hail, rain dance, or sandstorm. Outside of battle, it allows Rayquaza to command the weather in a unique way that no other pokémon seems to have the power to do."

"So that's how it was able to calm down Groudon and Kyogre all those years ago."

"During their first battle centuries ago, yes," Professor Hale said, correcting Zinnia. "However, that's the only time it has been used, to our knowledge. Our data shows that there have only been anomalies in the weather on very few occasions—two of which were caused by Groudon and Kyogre."

"And the others?"

"We aren't entirely sure. You see, meteorology can be fickle, like all sciences. It's hard to know for certainty what happened, when something happened, and where it happened. If Rayquaza ever used its Air Lock, we wouldn't necessarily know," Professor Hale took off her glasses for a moment and stared at a screen which showed the Hoenn region in full, with swirls of white puffs surrounding certain regions, possibly indicating weather patterns. "To answer your second inquiry, we do not know the full extent of Rayquaza's power yet. We do know that it used it to stop the fighting between the superancient pokémon, but that was merely on a smaller, more regional, scale. If Air Lock can go global, we would have no evidence of knowing that, at least right now."

"But if Air Lock can regulate the weather, wouldn't you notice any drastic changes throughout history?" Zinnia asked. "What I mean is, if Air Lock is global, wouldn't it be easier to find evidence for its existence?"

"Only if Rayquaza ever had a reason to drastically change the weather besides calming down the superancient pokémon," Professor Hale answered. "Listen, if I knew anything at all, I'd tell you. You know that, right?"

"Sure. Thanks, professor," Zinnia said before turning around. "C'mon, Aster, let's go."

As the Draconid was about to leave, Niko stopped her.

"Wait," He said bluntly, causing Zinnia to stop and look up at Niko.

"What is it?" She asked, suddenly annoyed.

"Why do you need that information? You got your grandmother back, what else is there?"

"Do you forget the whole reason I was at Meteor Falls? Why I was there just in time to fight Team Magma and Aqua? I'm against them, and I have a hunch on what they're planning. To stop them I need as much information as I can get, and that requires coming to places like this. Satisfied?"

"I…I guess so," Niko said, retracting his hand and allowing Zinnia and Aster to pass by.

"Good day, Niko. Hope all is well with you," Zinnia said as she turned back and exited the room.

"Still, what an odd girl…" JJ said, shaking his head.

Niko was about to respond when a small little pokémon came down from an open skylight in the ceiling. It was a blue raindrop-shaped pokémon with a storm cloud-shaped bottom. At least, it did until it transformed into a plain, gray cloud-like figure with a small wisp extending from the top of its head.

"Excellent, thanks, castform," Professor Hale said, smiling as the pokémon rested in the palm of her hand, although clearly too big for it.

"Castform? What's that?" Niko asked, pulling out his pokédex:

"Oh, you kids are still here?" Professor Hale asked, slightly annoyed. "Oh, whatever."

" _Castform, the weather pokémon. Depending on its form, it can be normal, fire (sunny form), water (rainy form), or ice (snowy form) type. It alters its form depending on the weather. Changes in the climate such as the temperature and humidity appear to affect its cellular structure_."

"Wow, that's a cool pokémon!" Jake exclaimed, watching the castform float around them cheerfully.

"Indeed. We created it decades ago, right here in the Weather Institute. It's a lovely pokémon, and is incredibly helpful in our field work," Professor Hale said, admiring the little weather pokémon. She sighed, as if remembering a memory she was fond of.

"What exactly do you all do here?" Niko asked curiously.

"Well, we track weather movements around the Hoenn region and collaborate with our counterparts in other regions who do the same. In the case of a global event, we all have direct lines of communication with one another. But mostly we just track, check, and study weather movements and patterns. Trust me, it isn't nearly as exciting as it sounds, but I love doing it."

"Then it must be interesting," Brittany commented.

"To most it isn't," Professor Hale said plainly.

"Why was Zinnia here, besides just getting some answers?" Niko asked, still confused by the Draconid's appearance.

"You think I know more than I'm letting on? No, I don't know why. I knew her mother, back in the day. We went to school together, and so I was happy to help Zinnia out with whatever she needed. For what specific purpose, I don't know."

"Alright, well, thanks," Niko said, turning to leave.

"But," Professor Hale said, causing the group to stop in their tracks. "If she is up to anything dangerous, please let us know. If Rayquaza is her goal, then a regional—if not global—weather event is imminent."

"We'll keep that in mind, thanks," JJ said, turning with his friends towards the stairs and back down the hallway to the entrance. Exiting the Weather Institute, they noticed it was raining once again. "Guess that castform was a sign of something, right?"

"Yeah," Niko said, lost in thought about Zinnia, the Draconids, and the superancient pokémon. What is going on? What does Zinnia have in mind? What do Team Aqua and Magma have in mind? Everything was so confusing and seemingly nonsensical to Niko that he easily pushed it to the back of his mind and continued with his friends towards Fortree City, where he would compete for his sixth Hoenn gym badge.


	35. Niko takes to the sky!

**Episode 35: Niko takes to the sky!**

Only days after their surprise meetup with Zinnia at the Weather Institute, Niko and his friends arrived in Fortree City, and it was not exactly what they were expecting.

Fortree City is unique in that all of the houses are treehouses connected by a system of rope bridges that hang in the treetops. Since Fortree City is more naturally preserved than other towns and cities, the residents are able to live closer to wild pokémon, particularly bug and flying types. Niko, still slightly afraid of bugs, found this to be only a little terrifying when they arrived at the pokémon center (one of the few buildings on the ground, but still just as open and welcoming to wild pokémon as any of the other buildings). Needless to say, Niko didn't sleep as well as he had hoped during their first night in the city.

The following day, the group walked to the gym, only to notice that the gym leader—Winona—was out for the day, citing the Feather Carnival.

"What's that, JJ?" Niko asked, turning to his curly blonde friend, who immediately whipped out his pokénav.

"Just some festival to celebrate flying types. Wanna check it out?"

"Sure, why not?" Niko said with confirmation from Brittany and Jake as well. The four walked around the city until they found a large collection of people, pokémon, and carnival-like decorations everywhere.

"Wow…look at all this!" Brittany commented, "They really go all out, don't they?" She said, looking at the various stands, rides, and products lining the main street on the ground of the city. The group walked around for a bit, engaging in different games and attractions. Niko took Jake on one of the flying pokémon rides, despite his fear of heights.

High up in the air on a grass and flying type pokémon called tropius, Niko and Jake surveyed the land below them, seeing not just Fortree City, but the long river to the west, and another one to the east, presumably where they'd head next.

"This is incredible, isn't it, Jake?" Niko asked, trying to hide his fear.

"Uh…y-yeah," Jake said, trying not to look down.

"What, you're scared of heights, too?" Niko asked. Jake nodded nervously, and the older brother commanded the tropius to fly down. It did so, its large, leafed wings flapping powerfully as it slowly descended back to the ground, allowing Niko and Jake to get off of the ride. "Scared of heights, just like your big brother: check!" Niko said, trying to lighten up the conversation. To make up for it, he went and bought some candy for his brother, which seemed to eliminate all fears, at least momentarily.

They later met up with Brittany and JJ, who were busy watching a flying contest. As they reunited, Brittany pointed to one trainer in particular. She was wearing a lavender jumpsuit with a goggle helmet decorated with wings. Long, lavender hair protruded from the back of the helmet, swaying in the wind.

"What, Brittany?" Niko asked.

"She's the gym leader. Winona," The brunette replied. "She's supposedly a master of flying types. And, well, it certainly shows. Looks like she's winning with her skarmory."

Niko watched in awe as his new opponent was swiftly defeating each of her opponents in a race. "Well, guess I have some training to do," He said, turning away and leaving the carnival, his friends still watching the contest.

* * *

Later that day, Brittany, JJ, and Jake found Niko near the pokémon center on the edge of the city, with his five pokémon all out and training.

"Taillow, we need to get this aerial ace down, alright?" Niko said, almost desperately. "Winona is going to be a tough opponent, and I need you to be at your absolute best."

The tiny swallow nodded, launching back into the air and diving downwards, its beak glowing and generating curved lines that ran alongside its body. Right before it hit the ground, the swallow shot back up in a curve-like motion.

"Great job!" Niko said, throwing a fist in the air. "Let's try it again!"

Meanwhile, manectric and grovyle were running around, building up their speed, while lairon was practicing iron tail and numel was, well, sleeping.

"I take it things are going well?" Brittany asked.

"I think so," Niko said, turning to his brunette friend. "I feel good about this one. How was the carnival?"

"It was great!" Brittany said, "Listen, we found Winona after the contest and she agreed to battle you first thing in the morning. Will you be ready by then?"

Niko nodded. "Yeah, think so."

* * *

The following morning, Niko woke up to his pokémon sleeping either on his bed or right next to it. He got up, dressed, and walked out to the dining room in the pokémon center to get started on his day while waiting for his friends, all of whom were exhausted from walking around at the carnival the previous day. After the usual quick conversation during breakfast, the four trainers made their way to the Fortree Gym, which was on the other side of the city, and seemed to be an exercise in its own right, given the nature of the city's structure.

Niko arrived at the gym, which was roofless and also in the air. There were two primary platforms—one for each battler—and a single set of stands on the challenger's right side. Brittany, Jake, and JJ all walked over to the stands, fearful of looking at the ground fair below them, while Niko stood on his platform.

"Challenger!" A voice bellowed from the other end. "Welcome. I am Winona, leader of the Fortree City gym. You must be Niko, right?"

"Yeah. Niko from Pallet Town!"

"Excellent. Your friends told me about you yesterday. I was looking forward to battling you. How does a four-on-four battle sound?"

"Works for me!"

"Great. Jodie, raise the platform!" Winona called out to her judge, who was standing in front of Niko's friends. Jodie then pressed a small button behind her that raised a platform from the ground to only a few feet below Niko and Winona. "Great. This is for any non-flying pokémon, which I can assume you use?"

"Yes, mostly ground-based pokémon."

"Very well. Let's begin, then! Swellow, I choose you!" Winona shouted, summoning a slightly larger version of taillow, only with two sharp, pointed tails and longer, light teal wings with a more pointed face and beak.

"Manectric, I choose you!" Niko commanded, deciding to bring out his electric type first. "Use howl, and then spark!"

"Swellow, use double team and then quick attack!" Winona commanded. The swallow pokémon duplicated itself several times before divebombing its opponent. Manectric was able to repel most of them with spark, but was still hit in the face with the quick attack, which knocked it back slightly. "Now, use aerial ace!"

"Manectric, wait for it…" Niko said calmly, waiting for swellow to attack. "Now! Use thunderwave!"

Manectric howled out as it released a wave of electricity, hitting the flying type. Aerial ace hit nonetheless, causing manectric to reel back from the damage done.

"Don't give in, manectric! Use spark again!" Niko commanded while a stunned swellow used aerial ace once again. The attacks collided, with aerial ace's 100% accuracy being the saving grace for Winona. "Spark, again!"

"Swellow, aerial ace!" Winona commanded. For a third time, the two attacks collided. However, this time swellow collapsed, unable to take the multiple electric type moves.

"Swellow is unable to battle, manectric wins! Leader Winona will now send out her second pokémon!" Jodie declared.

"Manectric, return," Niko said before Winona could use her next pokémon. "You've done well, get some rest—I'll need you later," He said before pulling out another pokéball. "Grovyle, I choose you!"

"Pelipper, let's go!" Winona commanded. "Use supersonic!"

"Grovyle, dodge the supersonic and use leaf blade!" Niko commanded. The wood gecko, despite several hours of practice, still hadn't mastered leaf blade. But nevertheless Niko was counting on his trusty grass type to pull through once more, like it did in Petalburg City. Unfortunately, grovyle was hit with the supersonic and crashed into the ground.

"Pelipper, use aerial ace!" Winona shouted. The water bird pokémon dove down and slammed into grovyle, who seemed to recover from the confusion rather quickly and began to stand back up until it got hit by the aerial ace and fell on its back.

"Grovyle, get back up and use bullet seed!" Niko commanded. The wood gecko pokémon opened its maw and fired off several rounds of bullet seeds, all blocked by pelipper's protect move, which was simply a sphere around its body that disallowed any move to pass through its protective barrier. Biting his pointer finger, Niko tried to think of something. _It's just like Melinda's pelipper…how do I beat this?_

"Pelipper, use aerial ace!" Winona commanded.

"Grovyle, slow it down with bullet seed and block the attack with leaf blade!" Niko shouted, hoping his use of two moves would be enough for the wood gecko.

Turns out, it was. The bullet seed temporarily halted the water bird's advances while grovyle prepared its leaf blade. For the first time since its battle with Norman, Niko's grovyle landed leaf blade, collided its right blade with pelipper's beak. Both pokémon repelled backwards several feet from the force of impact.

"Grovyle, rush in with leaf blade again!" Niko shouted, throwing his hand out in a gesture.

"Pelipper, protect!" Winona commanded. Grovyle leapt into the air and nearly landed its leaf blade, but the leaf stopped glowing just before grovyle made contact with pelipper's protective sphere.

"Use bullet seed again!" Niko shouted. Grovyle fired off more bullet seeds and, when the attack finished, pelipper launched down for an aerial ace. "Mega drain!"

Grovyle grabbed onto pelipper's beak as the latter landed its aerial ace. The wood gecko pokémon took damage and gained it back, leaving its health level in limbo. Hearing Niko's final command, it opened fire with bullet seed at close range, repelling pelipper back into the wall below Winona, defeating it.

"Pelipper is unable to battle, grovyle wins!" The judge declared just before grovyle collapsed as well from exhaustion. "My apologies: pelipper and grovyle are both unable to battle. Both trainers will now send out their next pokémon!"

"Skarmory, I choose you!" Winona shouted.

"Numel, let's go!" Niko said, summoning his numb pokémon. "Use ember!"

"Skarmory, use sand attack!" Winona commanded. The armor bird pokémon swooped low to the ground and slapped numel with some sand, negating the ember attack. "Now, use steel wing!"

"Numel, are you alright?" Niko asked as his fire type tried shaking the sand off of its face. "Use ember everywhere!"

Numel fired off fireballs in every direction, nearly hitting Winona at one point. The attack was successful, as skarmory was hit in the wing by one and crashed into the ground.

"Great hit! Use tackle now!" Niko commanded, but underestimated skarmory's speed. The armor bird pokémon quickly recovered and landed an aerial ace before taking another ember from numel, who was now able to see more clearly.

"Skarmory, aerial ace!" Winona commanded. The steel type dove once more, enduring the barrage of embers as it collided powerfully with numel, knocking it back several feet, but ultimately defeating it.

"Numel is unable to battle, skarmory wins! Niko will send out his next pokémon!" Jodie declared.

"Manectric, I choose you!" Niko shouted. "Use spark!"

"Skarmory, use aerial ace!" Winona commanded. The two attacks collided, but manectric was able to land a thunderwave, which momentarily stunned the armor bird pokémon, and allowed manectric to finally practice its shock wave.

"Manectric, use shock wave!" Niko commanded, throwing out his hand in a gesture once more. The discharge pokémon roared out as a ball of lightning appeared above it, constantly raining bolts of lightning across the field, hitting the paralyzed skarmory multiple times. "Now, finish it off with quick attack and spark!"

The electric type howled out as it rushed as its opponent, its fur sparkling with electricity as it collided with skarmory, knocking it out.

"Skarmory is unable to battle, manectric wins!" Jodie stated. "Winona will now send out her final pokémon!"

"Altaria, I choose you!" Winona shouted, summoning a blue bird-like pokémon with a white, puffy cloud surrounding it. Niko pulled out his pokédex to look at this new creature:

" _Altaria, the humming pokémon. Dragon and flying type. It hums in a beautiful soprano voice. It flies among white clouds in the blue sky. It launches intensely hot fireballs from its mouth_."

"Manectric, use howl and then quick attack!" Niko shouted.

"Altaria, use earthquake!" Winona commanded. The humming pokémon dropped to the ground like a solid lead block and shook the ground violently, catching its opponent off guard and quickly defeating it.

"Manectric is unable to battle, altaria wins!" Jodie stated. "Niko will now send out his final pokémon!"

"Taillow, let's go!" Niko shouted, unsure of his battle now. But he wouldn't let taillow know that. "Use double team!"

"Altaria, dragon dance!" Winona commanded as taillow duplicated itself several times. "Now, use aerial ace!"

"Taillow, aerial ace as well!" Niko cried out. The two attacks collided in the middle of the field, causing taillow to launch backwards into its trainer, nearly knocking the two over. "You alright?" Niko asked, the tiny swallow in his hands.

Taillow nodded, immediately flying back into the battle. It was able to land another aerial ace and a wing attack before altaria belted out a powerful dragonbreath, followed by another aerial ace, to which taillow responded, but was sent hurtling into the ground this time.

"Taillow, you can do this! The battle is depending on you now!" Niko shouted out encouragingly. "Don't give in to the pain, taillow! I know, it hurts. Altaria is powerful, but together we're stronger, and we will win!"

Taillow shot into the sky, high enough that no one could see it. "Altaria, use aerial ace and follow it!" Winona said, watching her dragon type follow its opponent high into the sky.

Moments later, there was a flash of white, and then a small cloud came descending back to the ground in the form of altaria, who crashed into the battlefield, followed by a…swellow?

 _Did taillow…just evolve?_ Niko thought to himself. _Yeah! Yeah, it did!_ "That's right, swellow! Great job!"

"Wow! Look at that!" JJ said, "Using the air to his advantage. Good on Niko's part. Now, this swellow…" He said, pulling out his pokédex:

" _Swellow, the swallow pokémon. Normal and flying type. A swellow dives upon prey from far above. It never misses its targets. It takes to the skies in search of lands with a warm climate_."

"Swellow, let's finish this battle!" Niko cried out, feeling energy flowing through his body. "Use double team!"

"Altaria, dragon dance!" Winona commanded as the humming pokémon began glowing a dark purple and orange color. "Now, dragonbreath!"

"Swellow, aerial ace!" Niko shouted, throwing his hand out once more as a gesture. The multiple copies of the swallow pokémon all rushed towards altaria, who was busy disposing of each in turn with dragonbreath. However, like Niko has done several times before, he commanded swellow to aerial attack it. This time, he knew for certain it wouldn't miss. Swellow crashed into altaria's head, rocketing the humming pokémon into the ground.

"Altaria, use dragonbreath!" Winona commanded, almost desperately. Altaria was about to breathe out a yellow-orange stream of fire, but its head and body fell forward, defeating the dragon type.

"Altaria is unable to battle, swellow wins! The victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!" Jodie stated.

"Woo! Swellow, we did it!" Niko said as the swallow pokémon perched onto his shoulder. "Thanks buddy, you did great out there!"

Swellow nodded happily as Winona, Jodie, and altaria all walked across the battlefield via the stands, where Brittany, JJ, and Jake all stood as well. Niko returned swellow before meeting with the gym leader.

"Niko, as proof that you've beaten me, here's the feather badge!" Winona said, holding out a small wing-shaped badge. The ruffled brown-haired boy took it, smiling at the gym leader, who had a mixture of happiness and disappointment on her face. It was clear that she either didn't battle often, or hated to lose (or both).

"Thanks, Winona. I appreciate the opportunity to battle against you. Best of luck in the future for you, as well."

With that, the group exited the gym, ready to stuff their faces in a congratulatory meal before packing up for their next journey, this time to Niko's seventh gym badge.


	36. The Ancient Tomb

**Episode 36: The Ancient Tomb**

After Niko defeated Winona and earned the Feather Badge, he and his friends walked over to the pokémon center—on the other end of the city—and had a meal before they packed up and left Fortree for their next destination.

"So, two badges left…" JJ said as he examined the map on his pokénav. "It looks like the last two major gyms in Hoenn are Mossdeep and Sootopolis City. Looks like Mossdeep is closer, though."

"Let's head there, then!"

"Only one problem, though," JJ said, a slight look of concern on his face. "It's an island. How're we going to get there?"

"We'll figure that out later. That's what we usually do," Niko said.

"JJ's right, Niko," Brittany added, "We should have a game plan for this."

"Well, there is Lilycove City on the way, maybe we can find someone there?" JJ suggested. "It also has a Pokémon Contest coming up, so I think we should enter, Brittany,"

"Oh, yeah! I've heard about that one! It's famous for being the first contest hall in the Hoenn region!" Brittany exclaimed, feeling ready to take on another contest. "I need two more ribbons to enter the Grand Festival, anyways, so why not compete there?"

"It's best to compete anywhere you can," Niko added. "By the way, JJ, what type is the Mossdeep City Gym?"

"Looks like psychic type…oh! That's, well, interesting," He said, looking surprised and curious at the same time.

"What's up?" Niko asked.

"There are two gym leaders. You'll have to do a double battle to win."

"Looking forward to it, then!" Niko said, looking determined. He thought it about it more in that moment, and only remembered having one double battle…ever. That was with JJ against Gabby and Ty. Would he have to battle the Mossdeep Gym leaders without a partner? Niko wondered how much more difficult it might be to have to control two pokémon at the same time in a high stakes match like a gym battle. Plus, there's no way these two would have only _two_ pokémon, right? They'd probably have more than two, which would raise the difficulty of the battle. It would also be a significant factor in any strategy he came up with.

Ultimately, though, Niko settled on the idea that he needed to train more. And train in a different way than he previously had. As he and his friends got up to grab their bags from their rooms and prepare to leave Fortree City, Niko started considering which pokémon would work well together. He has quick and slow pokémon—three and two, respectively. Could he go for an offensive/defensive combination, or a solidly offensive and solidly defensive combination? Would he be better off using pokémon on his team that naturally worked well together? He hadn't thought much about that—all of his teammates seemed to enjoy one another.

As Brittany and JJ bought more supplies for their nearly week-long trip to Lilycove City, Niko continued to ponder this, earning his little brother's attention.

"Niko, you alright?" Jake asked curiously, grabbing Niko's long sleeve to get his attention.

"What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine buddy. Just thinking."

"Thinkin' about what?"

"This next gym battle, Jake. I've never really done a double battle before."

"Oh, yeah. I bet it's going to be a lot different. But we can help you!"

Suddenly a light bulb lit up in Niko's head. _Of course! Why hadn't I thought of that?_ "Jake, you're a genius!"

"Yeah, I know," Jake said rather modestly.

"Let's have a double battle later today, after we've walked for a bit, yeah?" Niko suggested. Jake nodded in approval just as JJ and Brittany finished the shopping and motioned the group to leave the tree-topped city.

While they walked along Route 120—a rather wet strip of land, due to near-constant rain storms—Niko explained his new training regime to his friends to get their input. For the most part, Brittany and JJ thought it would work well, but with one problem: none of them had psychic types.

"Oh, I won't worry too much about that yet. I don't have anything that can beat psychic anyways!" Niko said rather nonchalantly.

"Are you _sure_ you'll be fine?" Brittany asked cautiously. So far in Hoenn, Niko had been fine with the occasional loss or difficult battle, and while this was certainly an improvement in her eyes, she was still concerned that his natural lack of confidence could still get triggered at any given moment.

"Yeah, I think we can do this. My team and I have gotten out of some tight spots before, and they're far stronger than they seem. I mean—swellow beat a _dragon_ type!" Niko said, still proud of his swallow bird's performance in the Fortree Gym.

"You make a good point, Niko," JJ responded. "But I think we'll have to test your double battling skills as much as possible. And, hey, it'll help all of us train, too!"

The group all agreed, seeing the opportunity to not only help out a friend, but to improve their own battling skills too. Brittany and JJ wanted to practice to get ideas for their performances. Jake, on the other hand, wanted to get better at battling in general, since he aspired to challenge gyms just like Niko one day.

After a few hours of walking, the group stopped near a rather large lake southeast of Fortree City to have dinner and set up their small camp. While they were doing that, the pokémon came out and spent time their helping their trainers or playing in the lake or small puddles surrounding the larger body of water. Or they were numel…sleeping.

Niko then broke down their training for the following week or so until the Mossdeep Gym. "Hey, everyone!" Niko said, calling his pokémon over. "So we found out our next gym battle is in Mossdeep City, and it'll be a double battle. So at least two of you will be battling side-by-side, got it?" The pokémon nodded, seeming to understand what Niko was saying. "Great. Well, only manectric has really had any experience in official double battles, so we'll be changing up how we train for now. We'll be battling Jake, JJ, and Brittany, and they'll also be doing double battles too! It'll give us an opportunity to learn how to work together as a team! So, how does it sound?"

Numel, obviously, hardly heard Niko, as it was dozing off to dreamland. Grovyle and manectric seemed intrigued by the idea, and looked willing to participate. Swellow seemed to have reservations, judging by its look, and lairon seemed excited about it.

"Numel?" Niko asked his fire type. "How do you feel about it buddy?"

Numel looked up groggily at its trainer and shrugged before falling back to sleep, clearly upsetting lairon, who is usually tolerant (at best) of numel's laziness. The iron armor pokémon kicked dirt at the numb pokémon, which seemed to anger it. Moments later, the two were exchanging mud slaps and embers.

"Stop! Stop it you two!" Niko shouted before grovyle got in between them, firing bullet seeds at the ground, which generated a loud enough noise to quiet everyone down. Niko sighed loudly. "Lairon, numel, you _do not_ fight each other. Got it?"

Lairon and numel both looked at Niko, angry with him now that he interrupted their spat. Numel even rolled its eyes before descending back to sleep.

"I SAID GOT IT?" Niko shouted. Numel ignored him, though. Lairon, still upset, turned and walked around to the other end of their group, refusing to look at numel. "Alright, don't use lairon and numel in a tag team—noted."

* * *

Niko was about to head to bed when he heard a rustling in the bushes nearby. Curious, he got up, flashlight in hand, and walked to the bush. He pried open the branches to see an injured pokémon sitting on the ground. It was a reptile-like pokémon with sickly green skin, a swirling tail of the same color, and two fin-like objects protruding from each side of its head with small yellow spikes on them. However, the most intriguing aspect of the pokémon was that it was flickering in and out of sight as if it were turning invisible.

"You alright?" Niko asked the pokémon. It slowly nodded its head and tried to get back up but collapsed onto the ground again. "Oh, don't worry, let me help you," Niko said as he tried to grab the reptile's paw. It obliged with relative ease and Niko pulled it up onto its feet. Slowly, the trainer brought the pokémon over to its campsite and set it down in front of what would have been the fire. "So…what happened?" Niko asked as he sat across from it, fully realizing he couldn't understand any of it.

However, the pokémon tried its best. It pointed behind it, in a northwestern direction, although not quite the way Niko and his friends had come from. Then it changed its color to a dark gray color, as if trying to resemble steel. That's when Niko decided to grab his pokédex from his backpack and analyze this pokémon:

" _Kecleon, the color swap pokémon. Normal type. A pokémon that has the ability to alter its body colors to match its surroundings. A kecleon reverts to its original colors if its startled_."

"Hmm…never heard of kecleon before. You sound really interesting, though," Niko said, and the kecleon clearly appreciated the compliment. "So, you got hurt in that direction. Was it a wall or a machine?" Kecleon shook its head. "Was it a human, like me?" Once more, it shook its head. "Was it a pokémon?"

Kecleon nodded.

"Alright then. A pokémon hurt you. Was it a big pokémon?" Kecleon nodded again. Niko then stood up. "As big as I am?" Kecleon shook its head. "Bigger?" It nodded. "Alright, so a big, gray pokémon attacked you. That's really weird. Why would it do that?"

Kecleon shrugged.

"Well, you can stay with us for the night, then. Here, have something to drink," Niko pulled out a water bottle and tossed it to the color swap pokémon, who took it and eagerly drank it. "Feeling better?" Kecleon nodded. "That's good. Well, I'm off to bed. Feel free to stay as long as you want."

* * *

"AHHHHH!" Niko awoke to a scream. Shooting up in his sleeping bag, he looked over to see Brittany and JJ freaked out by kecleon, who evidently decided to stay at their campsite.

"Morning, Brittany," Niko said in a groggily tone. "Meet kecleon. It's a reptile pokémon that can change color."

"And what the hell is it doing _here_?" She asked. Brittany was hardly a fan of reptiles, which was ironic, considering her first pokémon was a turtle. However, she certainly tolerated them more than Niko did bugs.

"It got attacked last night, so I talked with it for a bit, gave it some water, and let it stay here."

"Do you know what attacked it?" Jake asked, interested in kecleon's color-change ability. Mudkip and seedot were watching as it switched between blue and brown.

Niko shook his head. "No idea, but it was a pokémon. And it was bigger than I am, and dark gray. It also came from over there, apparently," He pointed in the same direction as the chameleon pokémon, who nodded to confirm.

"Should we go find it? Maybe it invaded kecleon's home or something. Is that what happened, kecleon?" Brittany asked, quickly getting over the excitement of seeing a reptile in her camp.

"I think that'd be a good idea," Niko said, getting out of his sleeping bag and getting dressed behind a tree before packing up his stuff and journeying with JJ and kecleon to find out what happened to it, with the color swap pokémon leading the way. After travelling down a trail for some time, they found an opening that led to a large clearing in the forest. There were puddles littered around a series of six pointed rocks, all surrounding a large tomb-like structure.

"What the…?" JJ asked, approaching the rock. "Niko, this kind of looks like what we saw back in the desert, right?"

Niko examined the structure, which had seven dots on it in a hexagonal formation, with one dot in the center. "Yeah…kecleon, is this it?" The normal type nodded, turning gray once more. "So, is there a pokémon inside here that hurt you?" Once again, it nodded, but pointed around the structure. Niko and JJ walked around to see an entrance leading inside it.

"Oh my god…" JJ said, unsure of what exactly to say. "Niko…want to explore it?" The brown-haired trainer nodded silently before slowly creeping into the tunnel that led downwards into another chamber. Pokéball at the ready, and kecleon hiding behind him, Niko walked into the chamber and saw exactly what the color swap pokémon was trying to communicate to him.

In the center of the chamber was a large pokémon with a spherical torso, two arms that hung at its sides, and seven dots in the same shape as the tomb on the outside. As he pulled out his pokédex, he noticed the pokémon wasn't exactly asleep.

"Uh, Niko…" JJ said, slowly backing away with kecleon.

" _Registeel, the iron pokémon. Steel type. Its body is harder than any other kind of metal. The body metal is composed of a mysterious substance. Not only is it hard, it shrinks and stretches flexibly_."

"…run…" JJ said, turning and bolting back up the tunnel with kecleon. Niko looked up from his pokédex to see registeel moving in its direction. Unable to read its facial expression—as it hardly had a "face"—Niko backed away and ran off with his friend as well, narrowing escaping a beam of electric energy that hit the ceiling above him, collapsing the earth and creating a wall between him and registeel.

"WOW!" Niko said, panting. "So, kecleon, that was a registeel, and it shouldn't be bothering you anytime soon. It collapsed the ceiling of the tunnel we were in, and I don't think it will be able to get out anytime soon."

Kecleon looked up at Niko and, without a second thought, ran up to hug his leg. Niko smiled warmly.

"You're welcome, buddy. Now, we've gotta get back to our camp and continue on our journey. But, here," Niko said, pulling out a candy bar. "You can have this. I'm not sure if you're allowed to, but try it, and if you don't like it, don't worry. It's my favorite, though."

Kecleon took the chocolate and peanut butter candy bar in its hands and, after looking up at Niko and JJ one last time, walked off in the opposite direction, past registeel's tomb. Niko and JJ then headed back to their campsite, where Brittany and Jake were eagerly waiting for them.

"What happened?" Brittany asked as she finished packing up.

"Kecleon was attacked by a pokémon called registeel. Apparently, it lives in one of those tombs like the one you saw back in the desert."

"You think it was another pokémon like registeel?" Brittany asked.

"No clue, but whatever, registeel locked itself back in its tomb with some electric type move. Could have been zap cannon, but I'm not too sure. Was too busy running from it."

"It attacked you!?" Brittany asked in shock.

"Yup," Niko nodded, again nonchalantly.

"Whatever. Let's just get going and put this registeel behind us," Brittany said, hoisting her backpack over her shoulders and motioning her friends to continue onwards towards Lilycove. Their training would have to take place some other time.


	37. The floral elite

**Episode 37: The floral elite**

"Grovyle, use mega drain! Swellow, aerial ace!" Niko commanded.

"Umbreon, shadow ball on grovyle!" JJ said, throwing his hand out in a gesture, just like his friend has done.

"Torchic, fire spin on swellow!" Brittany shouted. All four attacks collided, all of them hitting their intended targets as planned. However, swellow found itself stuck in the fiery tornado. Niko tried to quickly find a solution, but was failing, due to grovyle's inability to deal with fire moves. "Grovyle, leaf blade on torchic! Swellow, aerial ace on torchic!"

Both the wood gecko and swallow pokémon charged towards their target, only to be met with umbreon's faint attack, hitting grovyle, but allowing swellow to crash into the other bird-like pokémon.

"Grovyle, get back up and use bullet seed on umbreon! Swellow, use wing attack on torchic!"

"Umbreon, use faint attack on swellow!" JJ commanded. However, just as the bullet seed began firing towards the moonlight pokémon, swellow accidentally got in front and intercepted the fast-moving seeds. Clearly irritated, swellow turned to grovyle and began pecking at it viciously while umbreon and torchic stood back and watched.

"You're kidding…" Niko said, facepalming. "Grovyle! Swellow! Stop it right now!" His two pokémon stopped and turned to look at their trainer. "Now do you want to win this? Or hold an insignificant grudge on each other?"

Grovyle and swellow both looked at each other, then back at Niko, their heads drooping in shame. They then turned back to umbreon and torchic, and resumed their attacks, landing them successfully this time.

"Umbreon, shadow ball on grovyle!" JJ commanded.

"Torchic, use ember on grovyle!" Brittany commanded. The ghost and fire type attacks combined to create a sort of will-o-wisp attack that hit grovyle in the chest, knocking it onto its back. The grass type howled in pain.

It was then that swellow turned back and flapped its wings in an attempt to extinguish the fire. However, that left it susceptible to umbreon's faint attack, which knocked it away while torchic finished grovyle off with fire spin.

"Grovyle, return. You did good, just rest up, alright? Swellow, use aerial ace on umbreon!" Niko commanded. The swallow pokémon dodged around embers and survived a faint attack before hitting its target, knocking umbreon off its feet before it used quick attack to finish it off. "Great job, swellow!" Niko shouted, pumping his fist in the air.

"Umbreon, return. You did excellent! It's all up to you now, Brittany," JJ said, backing away to join Jake on the sidelines, where the remaining members of Niko's team were sitting and watching (well, numel was sleeping, but it was out of its pokéball).

"Got it, JJ. Torchic, use fire spin!"

"Swellow, aerial ace!" Niko commanded. Swellow quickly found itself enveloped in the fiery tornado before it landed its signature move, although it was just enough before both pokémon collapsed onto the ground, ending the battle in a tie.

"Return, torchic. I'm proud of you!" Brittany said, smiling before looking back up at Niko. "That…could have gone better, I think."

"Yeah, I agree," Niko said, returning swellow. "I wish my pokémon were more prepared to do double battles, though."

"I'm sure they will. It's just a new experience for them, that's all," Brittany said, patting her friend on the shoulder. Niko half smiled at the gesture before sitting down in front of lairon and manectric.

"So…I know that could have gone better, but do you feel like you learned anything?" Niko asked, not bothering to even ask numel, who clearly didn't see the practice battle. Lairon, ever loyal and enthusiastic, nodded, as did manectric, who seemed to understand the difficulties of it, but also its importance to their team's success. Understanding this, Niko smiled and got back up to send out grovyle and swellow and help heal them up. While he did this Brittany and JJ prepared lunch for the group, while Jake ran around and played with the other pokémon for a bit.

Niko spent some time that afternoon reflecting more on his ability to double battle. It wasn't just that he had to command _two_ pokémon. It was that he needed to command them in a certain way, for several reasons: to not cause them to collide on accident, and also to anticipate his opponent's moves. He imagined that the latter reason might be more difficult against a pair of psychic trainers, but didn't think much else of it.

The group were only a couple days away from Lilycove City, where JJ and Brittany would participate in their fifth Pokémon Contest. When they weren't training with Niko, the two spent some time practicing moves with their pokémon. JJ wanted to try with bayleef this time, since the leaf pokémon was closer to mastering synthesis. Brittany was opting to use tangela, since it hadn't participated in a contest yet, and it was showing some signs of wanting to, having seen one of two of its trainer's performances, both in practice and on stage. Brittany felt like she was getting much better at this and, with the occasional double battle practice against Niko, she felt she was improving her battling skills as well.

During lunch the day before they reached Lilycove, Niko was sitting with his pokémon as they ate, watching them and trying to think of more optimal battling partners. _Lairon and numel don't seem to work out well, and grovyle and swellow need work. What about lairon and manectric? Lairon seems eager to try out double battling, and manectric has experience with it already? Alright, next time I'll give it a shot_.

Niko was about to get up and suggest another battle with his friends when a dark gray pokémon with ruby red eyes and sickly yellow teeth that seemed to look like it was part of a zipper appeared in front of JJ, stole his food, and disappeared once more.

"What the hell?" JJ exclaimed, looking around frantically. "Did you guys see that!?"

"Yeah…" Niko said, standing up. His pokémon seemed to be on alert, too. "Any idea of what it was?"

"I do…" A feminine voice said from beyond some bushes. She was a woman of average height with slightly darker skin, short black hair, and two red flowers hanging on each ear. She was barefoot, but had a small red ankle bracelet that sat under a long, floral and pokéball-themed dress. "That was my banette. Sorry about that, he likes to eat…a lot, which is unusual for a ghost type."

"Banette…?" JJ asked, pulling out his pokédex:

" _Banette, the marionette pokémon. Ghost type. An abandoned plush doll became this pokémon. They are said to live in garbage dumps and wander about in search of the children that threw them away_."

"Eheh…yeah, my banette isn't that creepy. Or, at least one of them isn't…" The woman said, scratching the back of her head nervously. "Anyways, sorry to intrude. My name is Phoebe, by the way."

"Hi Phoebe. My name is Niko, this is my brother, Jake, and my friends, Brittany and JJ."

"Pleased to meet all of you. Where are you from?"

"We're all from Pallet Town in Kanto, and Brittany's from Vermilion City."

"Oh, what a lovely place. I've been there a few times to consult with Agatha."

"You know Agatha?" Niko asked, remembering the time he briefly challenged the Elite 4 member.

"Of course. She's a mentor to me, along with my own grandmother. You see, I'm a ghost-type specialist, and also a member of the Elite 4 here in Hoenn."

"Really?" Niko asked in surprise. "That's cool! I'm challenging the gyms right now, actually."

"Oh? Plan on entering the Ever Grande Conference this spring?" Phoebe asked curiously.

"Yeah, I'm hoping to at least make it in the Top 8!"

"Only Top 8? C'mon Niko!" Phoebe exclaimed, tossing her hands into the air. "Go for the gold! Aim to challenge me in the Champion's tournament!"

"Is that what happens when you win the whole league?" Niko asked, only to get a slight nod from Phoebe.

"Yessir! I'm usually the second member to be challenged, but I'm by no means an easy one to beat. Ghost types can be pretty versatile."

"That's what Norman told me about normal types…" Niko muttered, remembering his two matches with the Petalburg Gym Leader.

"And he's right. But ghost types work largely the same way. I could show you, if you'd like."

"What do you mean by that?" Niko asked.

"It means I'm challenging you to a battle. You're obviously on your way to Mossdeep City, so you probably have a few badges under your belt."

"I have six actually," Niko corrected her, which only seemed to make Phoebe's case for her. "But yes, I accept your challenge."

"Excellent. If you're challenging Tate and Liza, let's do a double battle then!" Phoebe suggested, almost as if she were reading Niko's mind. The brown-haired trainer turned to lairon and manectric and motioned them over to their makeshift battlefield out in the field nearby. Brittany, Jake, and JJ all walked over with their pokémon and the rest of Niko's to watch their friend and trainer challenge a member of the Elite 4, which Niko has not done in some time.

"Two-on-two double battle?" Niko asked. Phoebe nodded, summoning two pokémon of her own—the banette from earlier, and a pokémon called dusclops. Curious, Niko pulled out his pokédex to observer the single-eyed pokémon:

" _Dusclops, the beckon pokémon. Ghost type. It is thought that its body is hollow with only a spectral ball of fire burning inside. However, no one has been able to confirm this theory as fact_."

"Well, that's interesting, but it doesn't seem to help me much," Niko said, turning to lairon and manectric. "You guys ready? Phoebe is a member of the Elite 4 here, and will not be easy to defeat."

Lairon and manectric nodded, and Niko then issued the iron armor pokémon to use dig, and manectric to use spark.

"Duslops, shadow ball on manectric! Banette, faint attack on lairon!" Phoebe commanded. The inky orb of shadows collided with electric sparks as manectric charged towards the beckon pokémon. Meanwhile, lairon dug into the ground, but it didn't seem to be enough protection from banette, who phased through the ground and slammed into the iron armor pokémon, disrupting its dig attack while also damaging it.

"Lairon, use iron tail!" Niko commanded. "Manectric, use shock wave!" Realizing that his discharge pokémon hadn't yet mastered the electric move, he went with it anyways, believing that he might be able to land it this time.

Lairon swung around underground, missing banette each time, who retaliated with faint attack and then a will-o-wisp, which left a nasty burn mark on lairon's steel armor. The rock type moved back to the surface before getting hit with a shadow ball to the side.

"Dusclops, use ice beam!" Phoebe commanded. The ghost type released a chilling beam at manectric, who tried to dodge but got hit as it was preparing to use shock wave. Manectric collapsed onto the ground, reeling from the frosty blast.

"Manectric, get up and use shock wave! Lairon, iron tail on dusclops!" Niko commanded, choosing to double-team the beckon pokémon. However, he soon found out that he ran into the same mistake as before.

Lairon ran towards dusclops, who hurled a shadow ball at it, but the iron armor pokémon seemed undeterred from its mission. Manectric then released a shock wave, for the first time in a while, that hit not only banette, but also dusclops _and_ lairon. The steel type collapsed onto the ground, unable to finish its attack.

Phoebe quietly observed the situation before speaking again. "Niko, you have a lot to learn before you can beat Tate and Liza. It's clear to me that you don't quite understand how to double battle. Banette, get into the air. Dusclops, earthquake."

The beckon pokémon roared to the sky as it violently shook the ground under it, quickly defeating both of its opponents. Stunned, Niko returned both of them and lowered his head to the ground. _I knew she would be difficult…but I could have put up a better fight against her…_ He thought. He then noticed the Elite 4 member approach him.

"Like I said, Niko, you have a lot to learn. Think about this battle. It's clear that you've made this mistake before," She laid a hand on his shoulder comfortably. "Otherwise, I think you're a good trainer who seems to have a terrific bond with your pokémon. It's clear—at least from observing these two—that they look up to you. They _will_ listen to you, regardless of what it might be. The rest is up to you. Remember that.

"Anyways, I've got to head back to Mt. Pyre. My grandma is probably wondering where I am. It's been a pleasure meeting all of you. Niko, best of luck in Mossdeep."

"Thanks, Phoebe. I appreciate the help," Niko said with a half-smile. Phoebe nodded, and walked down a path to their right, which led south. Niko then walked over to one of the rocks they had sat on for lunch and put his arms on his knees. "Guys…I need to figure this out…"

"And you will, Niko," Brittany said, sitting down next to him. "And we'll be here, every step of the way."

"Yeah, totally," JJ said, holding out his hand. Niko grabbed it, and the curly blonde pulled him up. Jake ran over and slapped his brother on the back, indicating his help as well. Niko smiled, throwing one arm around Brittany and another around JJ.

"Then let's get going. Off to Lilycove!" He proclaimed.


	38. Vines of victory

**Episode 38: Vines of victory**

Lilycove City was enormous. As the origin of Pokémon Contests in the Hoenn region, it has attracted trainers from Hoenn and all over the world, and is one of the two interregional hubs connecting Hoenn to the outside world. As Niko and his friends arrived in the city, they were quickly overwhelmed by the myriad of things that they could do.

Since Niko's gym battle in Mossdeep wasn't time sensitive, but Brittany's contest was, they decided to spend some time touring the city, both before and after the contest. First, however, they checked into a motel—the first in a long time for them—at the Cove Lily Motel. Thinking it was a friendly place, the group waltzed in, which apparently angered the owner, a middle-aged man with a white tank top and a five o'clock shadow.

"What're you kids doing here!?" He asked with a thick accent.

"We are here to check into this uh motel…" JJ said, his nervous tick coming back.

"Ah, right," He said, calming down. "I just don't like intruders. Yeah, your keys on the table over there. Rooms upstairs. Don't make a racket and pay when you come back down here."

"Got it, sir," JJ said as the four of them quickly and quietly walked up to their room, which was nicer than they had expected, but still a mess all the same. Putting their bags on the floor, the four put together the money they owed the motel owner and walked back down, gave him the money, and exited the Cove Lily for some sight-seeing.

"So…where first?" Niko asked. "We've got a couple hours before the contest."

"Niko…I'm hungry, can we grab some food?" Jake asked.

"Oh, yeah sure bud. Let's go, yeah?"

Brittany and JJ nodded, and the four walked around in search of a place. They ultimately settled on the food court in the Department Store, but the food they found was of unusually high quality for its environment. While they were eating, JJ and Brittany talked for a bit about their contest. For the most part, they both seemed ready to take it on, but were worried about being overshadowed by their rival—Madeleine.

"Guys, you're gonna be fine," Niko said, grabbing both of their hands with his. "You got this."

Brittany and JJ both smiled and nodded in agreement. Niko was right—they just have to believe. One of them is going to win this one, they thought.

* * *

The group arrived just in time for the Lilycove Contest to begin. JJ and Brittany registered as usual while Niko and Jake proceeded to their seats.

"Alright, JJ, Brittany, you're both set," The man at the registration desk said politely, motioning the two coordinators to the backroom. There, they saw none other than the beautiful auburn-haired woman, this time in a black pencil skirt and a sky-blue dress shirt. She turned to her two rivals and tacitly scoffed.

"You two again. Thought you'd have given up by now…" She said. "After all, between the two of you, you only have one ribbon, right?"

"Well, we're about to get our second," Brittany retorted, frowning a little.

"Is that so?" Madeleine asked, raising an eyebrow. "Because you've never beaten me. Never come close, as a matter of fact. But nevertheless, we'll see how well you do here. JJ, same to you," She said, walking away as they all noticed Vivian beginning the contest on their monitors.

"Hello everyone! Welcome to where it all began: the Lilycove City Pokémon Contest! I am Vivian Meridian, and I will be your host for today's event. For those unfamiliar with contests, I will run through them with you. There are two stages: The Performance and Battle Stages. In the Performance Stage, coordinators will show off the moves their pokémon know, and in the Battle Stage, they will show their moves in a battle—with style, of course!

"Now, let me also introduce our three judges: Lilycove City's very own Nurse Joy! Mr. Contesta, and Mr. Sukizo. They will rate the performances of each coordinator's style performance, and judge the battle only in the event of a tie or when one trainer's pokémon faints. And so, without further ado, let's bring out the first coordinator today. She hails from Vermilion City in Kanto, please welcome Brittany!"

Brittany approached the stage, trying not to look or act nervous. She took a deep breath, and tossed out a pokéball containing tangela.

"Let's do this tangela…" Brittany said with a smile. "Use poisonpowder!" The vine pokémon obliged, releasing purple spores into the air. It was careful, though, to not make contact with any of the judges or spectators. "Now tangela, use mega drain to bring them back," Brittany said in a calm, soothing voice, as if she were trying to tame a pokémon in the wild. Tangela continued, using its new mega drain attack, bringing the poisonpowder back to its body. "Now, finish it off by whacking them around with vine whip!"

Tangela slapped around the dust, causing it to "pop" into smaller, purple sparkles that hovered in the air for a few moments before they dissipated like a dying firework. Brittany smiled, knowing that tangela had done its best, and she would be proud of that regardless of how well they performed.

"Hey, tangela…" Brittany said as they walked into the backroom together, since she chose not to return it to its pokéball, as she wanted it to watch the other performances with her. "You did a great job today."

Tangela blushed slightly. Ever since Brittany had caught it in Kanto, nearly two years ago, they hadn't had too much battle experience together. The vine pokémon was close with its trainer, no doubt, but it never really established the kind of connection that, say, torchic or wartortle have had with Brittany. So, to hear this meant a lot to the little grass type, who waddled alongside the brunette trainer into the backroom as JJ was exiting for his performance.

The curly blonde trainer approached the stage and stared into the crowd. There were definitely more people than usual, likely due to the size of Lilycove city in general. More nervous than he expected to be, he summoned bayleef to the stage.

"Bayleef, let's use razor leaf, and then synthesis on the leaves!" JJ called out, just like he and bayleef had practiced. The leaf pokémon whirled its head, emitting sharp, green leaves from its neck. Then, bayleef began to glow a bright green color, as it was trying to use the sun's energy to heal it. Problem was, they were indoors, and so while the synthesis hardly had any effect on bayleef's health, it looked as if it had. In addition—as JJ expected it would—the synthesis extended to the leaves, allowing them to glow as they floated in the space between bayleef and the crowd.

JJ then asked bayleef to end the performance and exited the stage with his pokémon, rather pleased with himself. In the backroom, Brittany and tangela congratulated him and bayleef on their performance and continued to watch the others perform. There were only about 12 or 13 contestants that day, which would mean only eight would make it to the Battle Stage. The only notable performance was Madeleine's, in which she used her seaking. The goldfish pokémon used a combination move of waterfall and fury attack, which sprayed water in a patterned fashion. It certainly didn't look like her best performance, but it was nonetheless graceful enough to allow her to move on to the Battle Stage.

"Well, since we both used grass types, maybe then we have a shot as beating her this time," JJ said quietly to Brittany, who responded with a quick nod as Madeleine returned to the backroom. She was the last coordinator to perform. Moments later, Vivian announced the first round in the battle stage. Brittany would face off against Madeleine, and JJ would face off against some trainer from Fortree City.

"Oh, looks like you won't make it past Top 8 this time. A shame, really," The auburn-haired woman said with a stiff tone.

"We'll see…" Brittany said, "C'mon, tangela, let's go," She got up and walked out onto the stage after her rival while Vivian was announcing their names.

Madeleine smirked at Brittany from her end of the stage, pulling out a pokéball. "Seaking, style up!" She shouted, summoning the goldfish pokémon once again.

Brittany turned to tangela. "You're up, buddy. Let's show this prissy woman what we're made of," Tangela nodded, swelling with determination. It wanted to win as well, maybe more than Brittany did. "Use vine whip!"

"Seaking, dear, use fury attack to break the vines!" Madeleine commanded. Tangela released a pair of thin green vines as its opponent, but were dodged as seaking slapped them away with its horn. "Now, horn drill!"

"Tangela, roll out of the way and use vine whip to grab onto it!" Brittany shouted out. Tangela evaded the glowing white horn and, while it was still close enough, grabbed onto the horn, causing it to lurch forward towards its enemy. "Now, poisonpowder!"

The vine pokémon, remembering what Brittany told it about the Battle Stage, tried to be graceful with its movements moving forward. It leaped onto seaking's back and danced around, emitting purple powder that the goldfish pokémon quickly inhaled, causing it to collapse onto the ground. Tangela then released its vines from seaking, leapt off, and bowed. However, the battle wasn't yet over.

"Tangela, use mega drain!" Brittany commanded.

"Seaking, get up!" Madeleine shouted. "Don't let this little pokémon beat you! Use fury attack!"

Brittany looked up at the scoreboard. Since tangela has done more damage, plus its attacks were slightly more stylish, her bar was higher than Madeleine's. Did she have a chance at finally beating her rival?

"Tangela, we can do this!" Brittany shouted. "Use mega drain and poisonpowder!"

Tangela nodded, releasing its vines once more to make contact with seaking and drain its health. As the goldfish pokémon got back up to use fury attack, tangela slapped it with the vines while releasing more poisonpowder, and sucked not only the powder in, but also more of seaking's health. Madeleine's bar was getting dangerously low to defeat, and the auburn-haired coordinator looked like she was about to panic.

"No! I won't lose to a pleb like you!" She shouted, almost angrily. "Seaking, waterfall!"

The goldfish pokémon got back up, albeit slowly, and burst out water from its mouth, repelling it backwards as the water hit tangela, knocking it back. Seaking then lurched forward again, clearly using horn drill.

"Tangela, dodge and grab onto the horn again with vine whip!" Brittany commanded. Tangela nodded, leaping into the air just before seaking landed its attack. It somersaulted before releasing its two vines and wrapping them around seaking, taking full control of its opponent. "Now, finish it off with mega drain!" She said, throwing her hand out like Niko did. Tangela began to glow a bright green color as the health was draining from seaking and flowing through tangela. Unable to do much more, seaking collapsed to the ground.

"Wow! Looks like seaking is unable to battle, which means the victory goes to Brittany from Vermilion City!"

Brittany was speechless in the moment. She had finally beaten Madeleine. Her rival. In the first round. "Tangela!" She shouted happily. "We did it!" She bent down and held her arms out as tangela waddled over and jumped into her arms. "I'm so proud of you!"

"She did it…" Niko said, "But she still has two more battles before she can claim victory…"

"Yeah," Jake said, "But she and tangela can do it. Madeleine was tough."

In the backroom, JJ ran up to embrace his brunette friend, and bayleef congratulated tangela in its own way. Shortly thereafter, Madeleine walked in, completely ignoring Brittany as she walked through the backroom and out to where the stands were. JJ then announced that he was on, and walked onto the stage that Brittany had just exited.

JJ and bayleef were up against a trainer from Fortree City and his wailmer, which was a rotund blue whale pokémon. It hardly put up a fight to bayleef, who barraged it with razor leaf, trying to combine synthesis into it to give the leaves a uniquely green glow, and body slammed it to temporarily stun it. Ultimately, JJ and the leaf pokémon won the match, and moved on to the next round alongside Brittany.

It was then that Vivian announced that they would be facing each other in the second round of the Battle Stage. However, Brittany and JJ were hardly surprised or intimidated by this—they knew it would've happened. They've battled each other before, and either would be fine with the other winning, even though their first priority was to win the ribbon for themselves. Brittany had one ribbon—from the Fallarbor Contest—and needed two more to enter the Grand Festival. JJ had yet to win a ribbon of his own.

The two appeared on the stage opposite one another, their pokémon already at their side. Vivian announced the beginning of the battle, and both immediately got started.

"Bayleef, use body slam!" JJ commanded.

"Tangela, roll out of the way and use vine whip on its neck!" Brittany shouted, trying to emulate her previous battle with Madeleine. It turned out to be a success, as the vine pokémon quickly evaded the heavier bayleef, shot out its vines, and grabbed onto the leaf pokemon's neck, pulling itself onto its back. "Now, mega drain!"

"Bayleef, shake it off!" JJ commanded. His loyal grass type attempted to, but tangela's hold on its opponent was too strong, and the mega drain seemed to be doing what it was intended to do. Tangela then leaped off to bayleef's left, clearly satisfied with its first series of moves. "Bayleef, use razor leaf infused with synthesis!"

"Tangela, block them with vine whip!" Brittany commanded. Tangela then conjured more than two vines and shot them forward, swatting away the glowing green leaves with surprising accuracy, only allowing a few to pass on accident. "Now, poisonpowder!" The vine pokémon emitted the purple spores from its body, directing them towards bayleef by using its vines to swat them in a specific direction, which seemed to impress the judges. Bayleef then winced at the powder and struggled to stand back up.

"Bayleef, synthesis!" JJ commanded.

"Tangela, mega drain!" Brittany shouted. As bayleef began to glow bright green to heal itself, tangela shot two vines forward at its opponent, glowing green itself and draining whatever health bayleef was intaking. Exhausted, the leaf pokémon collapsed onto the ground.

"Bayleef is unable to battle, tangela wins!" Vivian announced. "The winner is Brittany from Vermilion City!"

The brunette once again eagerly embraced her tangela, feeling prouder of her pokémon than she ever had before. JJ returned bayleef to its pokéball, approached his travelling partner and friend, and shook her hand before embracing her as well.

"Win this now," He whispered in her ear before walking to the backroom and then to the healing center to get bayleef checked in, as it had been poisoned during the match.

Brittany then walked into the backroom to await her opponent in the finals. It turned out to be a trainer with a pokémon called sableye. It was a dark purple pokémon with two light blue gems for eyes and a red gem on its chest. It had sharp teeth and claws, and seemed to be a quick pokémon. However, it looked like it was a relatively fragile pokémon, which Brittany thought more about as she observed its previous battle.

"And for the final round, we have Brittany and tangela from Vermilion City, and Moxie and her Sableye from Dewford Town!" Vivian announced. Both trainers walked onto opposite end of the stage, their pokémon already out. "You may begin when ready, coordinators," Vivian said.

"Tangela, use poisonpowder!"

"Sableye, faint attack!" Moxie commanded. As the purple spores were finished releasing, sableye disappeared and quickly reappeared to tangela's left, swiping at it furiously. "Now, fury swipes!"

"Tangela, grab onto its claws with vine whip! And use mega drain!" Brittany shouted. Tangela tried to get hold, but the speed of sableye's claws made it difficult to get ahold of it, and thus both attacks failed. Thinking quickly, Brittany came up with something else. "Use tackle and poisonpowder!"

The vine pokémon, reeling from the several rounds of fury swipes that sableye subjected it to, charged forward, spores slowly emitting from its body, and slammed into the darkness pokémon, surrounding it with poisonpowder, even though the tackle itself didn't work, considering sableye was a ghost type.

"Sableye, shadow ball!" Moxie commanded. The dark type conjured a shadowy orb and launched it in tangela's direction, but the vine pokémon rolled out of the way and used vine whip once more on Brittany's command, as she had noticed the poisonpowder has slowed down sableye, but only slightly. This time, the vine whip succeeded, and tangela pulled itself inward and used mega drain up close, its vines glowing bright green as it transferred energy from its opponent to itself. Brittany's bar was now higher than Moxie's, and the brunette began to think that she might have a chance at winning this.

"Tangela, use vine whip!" Brittany commanded.

"Sableye, use detect!" Moxie commanded, but it was no use. The poison had taken effect, and sableye collapsed to the ground. After getting hit with the vine whip, it was defeated.

"Looks like sableye is unable to battle, which means Brittany and tangela are the winners of not just this match, but the Lilycove Pokémon Contest!" Vivian announced. Tangela turned to its trainer, who was already running towards it. Brittany picked tangela up and hugged it tightly.

"We won the whole thing, tangela!" Brittany shouted. Tangela brought out two of its vines and embraced Brittany back, filled with joy.

"Brittany…" Vivian said, walking over to the victor of the contest. "Here, the Lilycove ribbon. This is your second, correct?" Brittany nodded. "Well, I hope you can earn your third. I'd like to see you in the Grand Festival this year. Well done."

"Thanks, Vivian," Brittany said, looking down at tangela.

* * *

The group was waiting outside as Brittany and tangela exited the contest hall. Niko, Jake, and JJ were through the roof in joy.

"You did it!"

"Congrats, Brittany!"

"Now, only one more left!"

"Yeah, all thanks to tangela here," Brittany said, looking down at the vine pokémon standing beside her as she held pichu. "Couldn't have done it without you."

Tangela looked up at Brittany, still high on the joyful feeling it had earlier. It felt, maybe for the first time, like it really accomplished something, and wanted to ride that feeling as long as it could. Which caused the vine pokémon to break out into a run, which looked more like a fast-paced waddle, down the street as the sun began to set.

"Wait! Tangela!" Brittany said, running after her pokémon. Pichu jumped out of her arms and ran side-by-side with its teammate, the two off to some undetermined location.

Niko and JJ shook their heads as Jake also broke into a run. The two older boys nodded together, and also broke into a run to following their friends, wherever they were going.


	39. Life of a fan club legend

**Episode 39: Life of a fan club legend**

The day after Brittany's win at the Lilycove Pokémon Contest, the group decided to walk around the city for a bit before heading off to Mossdeep City. That, and they still hadn't figured out _how_ they were going to get to their next destination, as it was an island in the Eastern Hoenn Sea.

They first decided to check out the Lilycove Museum of Art. Niko, Jake, and JJ weren't incredibly interested in art, but Brittany certainly was, and since she won the contest, they obliged to tag along with her. JJ and Jake spent most of their time on the former's pokénav, looking at restaurants and other things to do in Lilycove City, while Niko feigned interest. At least, he feigned it at first, but over time he began to find the paintings far more fascinating than he thought.

"Oh, Niko, look at this one!" Brittany said, pointing to a picture in the corner on the second floor. "We know this guy…"

Niko looked up and saw a portrait of Steven Stone. "You're totally right…so Steven was the champion of the Hoenn Region?" He remembered, back in Dewford Town, when they all met Steven Stone in the Granite Cave. That's where he met and caught aron… "Wow. I had no idea. I wonder if he still is."

"He isn't. Look at the plaque here. It shows the years that he was champion. It ends four years ago."

"Guess someone beat him at it," Niko said, shrugging slightly.

"Or maybe he gave it up? He's an awfully busy man, you know," The brunette said, looking back around at some of the other paintings. "Oh! Look at this one!"

She motioned Niko over to one on the adjacent wall. The painting depicted two pokémon—one large and red, standing on the ground, another large, blue pokémon residing in the sea—and a long, green dragon-like pokémon floating in between them, in the sky. The sun was shining through the clouds behind the green dragon, as if it was like a god descending from the heavens.

"These…" Niko began, "…are the superancient pokémon, Groudon and Kyogre. So, that must mean this one in the middle…"

"…That's Rayquaza then," Brittany said. "That's what Zinnia is after, isn't it?"

"Yeah, looks like it. Hopefully she's doing it for good, and not evil," Niko said, concern in his tone. Throughout their adventures in Hoenn, they have periodically met with Team Aqua, Team Magma, or Zinnia, and every time the plot surrounding them got thicker, and only added more questions to the myriad of existing ones. What were they planning? How long have they been planning it? Why now? If the superancient pokémon nearly destroyed Hoenn last time, _why_ are they trying to reawaken them, if that's their endgame?

"I don't think we'll find out anytime soon. Let's not focus much on it. You need to think about your last two gym battles, Niko. They're going to be tough."

"And you need to think about getting that third ribbon. Yeah, I know," Niko said defensively. Truth be told, the prospect of fighting a double battle against two psychic trainers was weighing on him. The last time he fought a psychic type specialist, he lost badly and required a rematch. He'd rather not do that again. Problem, though, is that the format for this battle is a foreign one, and he needed to do some more training before he was ready for Tate and Liza.

"Hey, guys, we done yet?" JJ asked lazily, sitting on a bench with Jake, mudkip, and marill, all looking at the tiny screen on the pokénav.

Brittany sighed, and Niko turned around to them and nodded. "Yeah guys, let's get going. There might be some other things that we can check out here."

"Do we even know how we're getting to Mossdeep City yet?" JJ asked as the four exited the museum.

"Nope, not yet. But, I might have an idea," Niko said, winking. "Follow me."

His brother and friends followed without question as Niko walked down block after block, eventually reaching a high-rise building. He opened the door, walked up to a sign that had a listing of all of the organizations in the building, and sped-walked over to the elevator, forcing his friends and Jake to dash into the small elevator before it closed.

"Where are we going?" Brittany demanded.

"You'll see," Niko said, looking confident in his plan. The elevator stopped on the desired floor. Opening up, Niko looked down the left and right hallways and turned down the latter, eventually stopping at room 510: " **Lilycove City Pokémon Fan Club** "

"Niko…" Brittany said, mouth ajar.

"I don't usually like asking for things, but we _do_ need a ride," Niko said, opening the door. Inside there were roughly a dozen people dressed in casual clothing with the exception of the occasional person in a pokémon costume, or someone wearing a cat tail and ears…which slightly disturbed JJ). As they walked in, the whole group of people in the room paused what they were doing and looked at Niko and his friends.

"Uh…hi," Niko said, slightly raising his hand. "My name is Niko, and I'm from Pallet Town. These are my friends, JJ and Brittany, and my brother, Jake."

"Oh, hey Niko," A young man in a pikachu costume said. "Sup?"

"Not much, just in town for the recent contest. I'm doing the gym challenge right now, actually."

"Oh cool," Another person, a young, black-haired girl said. Then her eyes opened as wide as they could, as if she was in shock. "Wait…you're…there's no way…"

"I'm what…?" Niko asked, pretending not to know what she was talking about.

"You're the grandson of the Vermilion Fan Club! I knew it!" She exclaimed.

"I…yeah, so is Jake here," Niko said, patting his brother's back.

"Grandpa's famous?" Jake asked. He clearly wasn't paying attention when they were in Dewford. Niko nodded, smirking.

"OHMYGODITSNIKO!" The guy in a pikachu costume shouted, running up to grab Niko's hand and vigorously shake it. "It's truly an honor, sir. Is there anything we can help you with?"

"Oh, eheh," Niko replied, scratching the back of his head. "Well, there is one thing. We need a ride to Mossdeep City. I'm challenging the gym there, and we don't exactly know anyone in town…"

"Consider it done!" He said, "By the way, name's Kev. Short for Kevin. Pleased to meet you."

"You'd help us?" JJ asked, eyebrow raised.

"Yup!" Kevin said, throwing a thumb in the air and nodding. "This club owns a boat that takes us around the region in search of membership. We've already expanded our branch to Sootopolis and Ever Grande. Haven't quite hit Mossdeep yet, though."

"Why is that?" Niko asked, trying to keep the conversation running.

"Oh, there was some drama with the guy who was going to lead the branch there. Nothing that you need to worry about. So, when ya gotta leave?"

"As soon as possible. We just need to grab out bags from the Cove Lily Motel, and we'll be ready to go!" Niko said.

"Ew…Cove Lily? _Really_?" Kev asked, clearly showing disgust. "Someone as famous as you could have done WAY better."

"Well, I'm not exactly famous…" Niko said honestly.

"You are to us. We'd have helped you in a jiffy."

"I appreciate the thought. Anyways, where should we meet you?" Niko asked.

"At the Lilycove Harbor. It's at the southernmost point of the city. Shouldn't be too hard to find, I'd think."

"I'm sure we'll have no trouble. Thanks again, we'll meet you there, then?"

"Of course. I just need to get some things in order on my end and I'll be ready to go too!" Kev said, shaking Niko's hand once more.

As the group left the Fan Club, Brittany and JJ both gave Niko dazed looks. It was rare that Niko would ask for anything, especially using his "fame" to do so. Jake looked as pleased as his brother, although slightly surprised as well, considering he hardly knew his grandfather, and Niko didn't really mention his meetup back in the early days of his journey.

"Niko, I can't believe you did that!" JJ said.

"I can't believe it worked…" Brittany said. "I'm not complaining, though!"

"Heh, didn't think you were. And no worries, I won't do it again, unless we absolutely need to," Niko said, reassuring his friends.

* * *

The group paid for their stay at the Cove Lily after packing up and walked to the southern part of the city where they would meet Kev. Once they got there, they were astonished at the number of boats in the harbor, both indoors and outdoors. If Mr. Briney's boathouse was impressive for a single man, this was impressive even for a city.

Suddenly, Niko noticed a young man with long brown hair waving to them. He was wearing beige shorts, sandals, and a floral dress shirt, as if he were heading to the beach.

"Niko! Over here!" Kev shouted. The group looked at each other, nodded, and walked at a fast-pace over to their ride to Mossdeep. "Hey man, glad you made it. So, this is it: The Milotic 2.0. Named after the champion of the Hoenn League, Wallace."

"Wallace? Not Steven?" Niko asked.

"Nah, Wallace took over when Steven retired. He actually used to be the Sootopolis Gym Leader, and won the Grand Festival a few years back. I once got to meet him at the Grand Festival a couple years back. I have a picture with him in my room. Shoulda grabbed it to show you…"

"Kev, it's fine," Niko said, putting a hand on the fan's shoulder. "But that's interesting for sure. We just saw Steven's portrait in the Art Museum this morning."

"Oh, yeah! I got to meet Steven once, too!" Kev said, looking like he was about to explode into another anecdote.

"Nice, same here. Now, how long will this trip be?" Niko asked, looking up at the ship.

"A day, maybe?" Kev said, as if unsure. "Mossdeep is pretty far away, but it still won't take too long, relatively speaking. This thing can go pretty fast."

"You work on boats as a hobby?" Niko asked as Kev was helping them board the medium-sized boat.

"I do it for a living, actually. I'm from Pacifidlog Town down south. Folks worked in the only boat shop there, and so I've spent my entire life working on them. Came to Lilycove for school and just ended up staying. It's been great."

"Do you miss home?" Brittany asked.

"Occasionally, but it's such a long journey I don't usually visit. I go for birthdays and other occasions, but nothing else otherwise," Kev said as he fired up the engine. And began maneuvering his way out of the harbor. "So, tell me about yourselves. You all from Pallet Town?"

"Well, Jake, JJ, and I are. Brittany's from Vermilion."

"Ah, wonderful city. Been there once on Fan Club business, but their harbor is absolutely beautiful as well."

"Yeah, been there a few times. I was born there, too," Niko said with a friendly nod from Kev.

"And you're doing the gym challenge, you said?"

"Yeah, going for my seventh badge right now," Niko replied.

"So…Tate and Liza. Interesting pair. They're brother and sister, and can read each other's minds. They're not easy."

"I can imagine," Niko said, frowning slightly.

"Who's your favorite gym leader?" Kev asked. "Mine's probably Flannery. She's hella good-looking."

"Oh, err yeah. You're right, I guess," Niko said. "I'd have to say Norman, though. I learned a lot from battling him."

"Norman, eh? Interesting choice. Heard he's pretty tough, too."

"You got that right," Niko said, looking at the sea beyond him. The cockpit of the boat was roofless, and so the group all felt the ocean wind lightly slapping against their faces. Niko looked down into the water and saw magikarp, wailmer, and other water pokémon swimming on the surface. He also saw wingull and pelipper flying above him. Seeing them made him think of Melinda, and how she was doing. If she was doing any better since the incident with Nero…

"What do you all do?" Kev asked to the other three. JJ and Brittany mentioned contests, and the three got into a discussion about them. Turns out Kev's sister was a coordinator for some time before retiring from the profession in the Sinnoh Region. Meanwhile, Jake walked up to his brother and watched the sea fly by them.

"It's really cool, isn't it buddy?" Niko asked, pulling out his pokémon so they too could see the sights.

"Yeah, I didn't think I'd like the sea this much," Jake said. "Mudkip surely does!"

"Well, it's a water type. It should, shouldn't it?" Niko asked before quickly frowning. "Oh…dammit."

"What's up Niko?" Kev asked.

"I get motion sickness…" Niko said, turning away from the water. "I think I'll just head downstairs for a bit…"

"No worries, hope ya feel better. Now, where were we…?" Kev asked Brittany and JJ as they continued talking about contests while Jake watched over Niko's team. Grovyle and swellow noticed Niko's absence, but tried to enjoy the sights all the same. Manectric and particularly lairon seemed concerned for their trainer, since they had no idea he got motion sickness they likely never even heard of motion sickness before). Numel just slept through it all.

They continued on their journey through until midnight when they stopped at a small island to sleep. The following day, they expected to make it to Mossdeep City under the assumption that all would go well.

* * *

 **Author's note: Not much going on in this episode, just wanted to throw something in between Lilycove and Mossdeep City, and with the group's issues relating to sea travel, I figured this would be a good time as any to have a sort of "filler" episode. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy!**


	40. Rescued and rescuing

**Episode 40: Rescued and rescuing**

The next morning, Niko and his friends awoke to the smell of smoke. Realizing what it was, Niko leapt out of his sleeping bag and rushed to find Jake, only to see him already making his way to the exit along with Brittany and a still half-asleep JJ. They quickly climbed the ladders to see Kev putting out a fire in the back of the ship.

"What the hell happened!?" Niko shouted as they looked down at the man giving them a ride to Mossdeep City.

"I don't know, Niko!" Kev shouted, sounding as if he were short of breath. "I just woke up to this…not sure why. Maybe the internal engine blew and it ruptured a hole in the back. At least, that's what it looks like.

"Can you fix it?" Brittany asked, clearly demanding an answer.

"Possibly. Let me put the fire out and then I'll see," Kev said. Moments later the fire looked completely extinguished, which allowed the group to all take a closer look. Kev was right—the engine was broken. "Looks like it might have malfunctioned. Dammit! This is why I don't let other people fix my boats! Can't trust 'em," Kev said, "Look, luckily I have some backup parts stored at the bottom of the boat. I'll see what I can do, but it might take a while."

"Do you need any help?" JJ asked.

"Actually, that'd be swell. Thanks, JJ," Kev said. "Follow me, I'll show you were I keep everything."

After JJ and Kev walked back down into the ship, the other three simply continued staring at the roasted engine. "What should we do now?" Jake asked.

"Well, I could use some training. Maybe this is a good thing?" Niko said, shrugging. Brittany didn't necessarily agree with this, but did understand Niko's interest in continuing his double battle training. "Anyways, I'm gonna go start," Niko said, climbing out of the boat and onto the sandy shore below. Sighing, Brittany followed, with Jake closely behind.

"Grovyle, lairon, come on out!" Niko shouted, figuring that he hadn't tried this combination of pokémon yet. Brittany stepped several paces away from her friend and pulled out two pokéballs, containing torchic and wartortle. "Ready guys?" Niko asked. "Grovyle, leaf blade! Lairon, iron tail!"

"Torchic, fire spin on grovyle! Wartortle, water gun on lairon!" Brittany commanded. Grovyle rushed at the turtle pokémon, intercepting the water gun with its glowing green blade and spun around, slamming the other blade on top of wartortle's head. Meanwhile, lairon took the fire spin for grovyle and slowly spun around as well, its tail glowing a light gray color. Torchic managed to dodge by jumping up, and fired off a series of ember attacks onto the iron armor pokémon below it.

"Grovyle, grab onto wartortle and use mega drain! Lairon, use dig!" Niko shouted.

"Wartortle, rapid spin! Torchic, fire spin again!" Brittany commanded. Lairon in particular had difficulty using dig, as the sandy surface made it difficult to dig, well, anywhere. Meanwhile, grovyle had its own difficulty with the turtle pokémon, as it was spinning fast enough to make it nearly impossible for grovyle to grab onto it and drain its energy.

"Grovyle, lead blade into the rapid spin! Lairon, headbutt torchic!" Niko commanded. Brittany retaliated with fire spin and rapid spin, both of which were cancelled when grovyle and lairon's attacks landed successfully. "Now, finish wartortle off with mega drain! Lairon, use iron tail!" Niko shouted, ready to win this practice match.

"Not so fast, Niko. Wartortle, turn to lairon and use water gun! Torchic, switch and use fire spin on grovyle!"

"Grovyle, grab wartortle! Lairon, headbutt torchic!" Niko shouted, trying to save this match. Grovyle, being the faster pokémon of the two, managed to succeed, draining the turtle pokémon of its energy, but being succumbed to the fiery tornado erupting from torchic. Lairon, too, was subjected to an attack from wartortle, whose water gun, while brief, was effective in bringing the iron armor pokémon to its knees. Grovyle too was brought to its knees, although still in the fight, but wartortle was down for the count.

"Great job, wartortle. Return," Brittany said, looking to her sole pokémon now. "Torchic, use fire spin on grovyle once more!"

"Grovyle, bullet seed! Lairon, headbutt!" Niko commanded. However, while the bullet seed did manage to hit torchic, lairon accidentally ran into it while trying to headbutt its opponent. The rapid-fire seed slammed into the side of the steel pokemon's head, nearly knocking it out. Torchic then changed direction, hitting lairon with the fire spin instead, and defeating the iron armor pokémon. "Lairon, return. You did good, buddy. Grovyle! Continue with bullet seed! We can still win this!"

"Torchic, ember!" Brittany commanded. The small fireballs emitting from the chick pokemon's mouth collided with the bullet seed, forcing a stalemate between the two. "Now, fire spin!"

"Leaf blade!" Niko shouted. The wood gecko pokémon charged forward, its leaves glowing a bright green color, and leapt through the air to land its attack on torchic. However, the fire type launched an ember, causing grovyle to crash down into it, the leaf blade dissipating moments before. Niko facepalmed. "You've gotta be kidding me…" He returned grovyle to its pokéball and collapsed into the sand. "Why? I have the advantage, why can't I win?"

"I also had the advantage, Niko," Brittany said, walking over and sitting beside him. "And that might be what Tate and Liza are like. You got better, and almost beat me there. But I switched up on you halfway through. Guess you need to be more flexible in your strategy."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Maybe I need balance, too."

"Luckily Norman wasn't a double battle, or else you'd have been in a lot of trouble."

Niko laughed. "Yeah, you're right. Hey, where's Jake?" He said, looking around the island and not seeing his younger brother around. The only place he could have possibly gone was the small cave entrance to their left, or their boat on the shore to their right.

"Probably in the boat. Let's go see," Brittany said, helping Niko up. The two walked up to the boat, but neither Kev nor JJ had seen him.

"There's no way he would have gone into a cave on his own…" Niko said. "No way."

"Let's go and check. Maybe he did?" Brittany asked. Nodding, Niko followed the brunette over to the cave entrance, and they both walked in. On the inside, there was an enormous chamber with other entrances on several different layers.

"What the…" Niko said in awe. He had never seen a cave as vast and as deep as the one before him. "Jake!" He shouted out, realizing that his voice was echoing. Moments later, he heard a response.

"Niko? Niko! I'm over here!" The older brother turned slightly to his left to see Jake down in the bottom of the cavern. "I fell!"

"Are you okay?" Niko asked, pulling out a pokéball. "Swellow, I choose you! Make sure Jake is alright, okay?" The swallow pokémon nodded, and swooped down to the younger brother. Moments later, swellow looked back up at Niko and nodded from a distance. "Brittany, we've gotta get down there."

"And how're we gonna do that?" She asked, cautious but still willing to get Jake back to the boat. Niko then search around for a route down, eventually finding one on the opposite end of the massive chamber. Brittany followed him closely, even grabbing onto his arm for support at one point. They made it down to the bottom of the chamber after nearly falling at one point (presumably the same place that Jake had fallen from) and ran over to greet the boy.

Niko got down onto his knees to examine Jake. As it turned out, his knee looked a little bruised, but nothing serious. "Jake…what the hell? Why did you come in here?"

"It looked interesting! You're going into caves all the time, so I thought I could do it too!"

"Jake…listen, buddy. We only go in them if we need to. These kinds of places can be dangerous. Right, Brittany?" Niko turned to his brunette friend, asking for affirmation. She nodded grimly. "Well, I'm just glad you're safe. But please, don't ever do this again without at least asking me first, okay?"

"Yeah, I got it. Sorry, Niko," Jake said, slowly standing up, even wincing at one point. "But, where exactly are we?"

"I should be asking you that, buddy," Niko said, turning to swellow as if looking for answers. The flying type simply shrugged, looking around the bottom of the cavern. Suddenly, they felt the ground shake slightly, as if it were a small, insignificant earthquake, but powerful enough to feel it.

"Niko…what's going on?" Brittany asked, knowing fully well her friend didn't have the answer. Before Niko could answer, however, they saw water rising from the other cave entrances around them. "Oh no…it's flooding!"

"Guys, we've gotta get outta here!" Niko said, and the three made a run for the path they previously took to get to the bottom. However, the water was rising quicker now, and they found themselves knee-deep in it long before they made it back to their route upwards.

"What do we do now!?" Brittany shouted as Niko grabbed onto Jake and forced him through the water to the top.

"Go with swellow and try and get out. Make sure you get JJ and Kev. Tell them we're here!" Niko said. Jake hesitated, but ultimately nodded and ran up the route, with swellow at his side, and made his way back to the top, leaving Niko and Brittany behind.

"Are you mad!?" Brittany shouted, the water now up to her chest. "We could drown!"

"We'll be fine," Niko said, grabbing onto her shoulders. "Let's try and get back up!" He said, realizing it was futile, since the water was now blocking their way back up. Thinking back on it, Niko considered it a miracle that he was able to get his brother up there, but not himself or Brittany. Regardless, the two tried to swim up, but he suddenly felt the water pulling him away from the route, moving him and Brittany into the middle of the chamber.

"Niko, we're not fine!" Brittany shouted as she tried to tread water. Niko did the same, but the water continued to rise, and eventually Niko saw that they were level with the cave entrance. He began to swim over, but found it increasingly difficult with his clothes weighing him down. He also realized he was the only one—Brittany was nowhere to be found. Looking around frantically, he saw his friend dropping into the water, drowning. Without hesitation, he dove underwater and tried to swim to his brunette friend. Quickly, though, he discovered that he wasn't the best at holding his breath, and suddenly everything around him turned to black.

* * *

The first thing Niko saw when he woke up was a small seal-like face staring down at it, which is clearly not what he expected.

"What the hell are you?" Niko asked, scooching backwards to create distance between him and the pokémon.

"This is a spheal, Niko," Brittany replied. Niko looked up to see a still damp Brittany smiling down at him. "According to the pokédex, it's a water and ice type pokémon. I woke up to see the same thing."

"And why? Also, where are we?"

"I think this spheal—and its friends—saved us," Brittany said. "As for our location, don't know. But it's kind of cold, that's for sure."

Niko sat up against the wall behind him and stared at the half dozen or so spheals staring at him with dopey expressions. The more he studied them, the more he realized they looked adorable. They were seal-like pokémon in spherical shapes, with two flippers on each side and a stumpy tail at their other end. Its mouth was rather large, and it had two tiny little tusks that protruded from its upper lip, giving it something of an overbite.

"Well, spheal, if you did save us, thanks. My name is Niko."

The spheals all cocked their heads slightly, as if trying to understand what Niko was saying. They then nodded, some of them also responded by clapping their flippers together in happiness, which made Niko smile slightly.

"They're cute, aren't they?" Brittany asked, petting the one closest to her. "This is the one that apparently saved me. Or, at least, it was the first one that I saw."

"Nice," Niko said, lacking any real response. He finally stood up to stretch out and began walking around the room. "So, how long will that water last us?"

"No idea, maybe it had something to do with the tides?"

"The tides?" Niko asked, raising an eyebrow, indicating that he knew literally nothing about ocean tides.

"Yeah. I don't know, my dad once told me about them. The tide rises and falls depending on the time of day, I think."

"That would make sense. If so, then we should be able to do soon. How long have we been in here?"

"Not long. Say, can you bring numel out? We need to stay wa-warm," Brittany asked, clearly feeling the cold air of their cave. Niko nodded, and summoned his fire type, which drew an expression of shock from the spheals.

"Hey, it's okay, he's just here to help warm us up. Numel, can ya help me out a bit?" Niko asked. Numel yawned, but obliged, increasing the heat inside its hump to create external heat. Niko placed his hands close to the hump, as did Brittany, and they both instantly felt much warmer. They continued to sit there for a bit before feeling warm enough to explore the cave they were in a bit more. Minutes later, Niko found an exit, only to be met with a lake in front of him, separating him from the cave exit. Clearly JJ and Kev weren't there. _Did Jake make it out?_ Niko asked himself. Trying not to think much of it, Niko turned back to Brittany and motioned her over, the spheal still at her side. "Hey, so there's our way out. We just gotta swim over."

As Niko said this, a small, triangular-looking pokémon walked around his legs to get a view of the lake as well. Niko interrupted his brief conversation with Brittany and looked down at the little pokémon, who jumped away as the water ebbed and flowed in the cave entrance.

"Oh, hello there," Niko said, clearly frightening the little pokémon. "Who are you?" He asked, pulling out his pokédex:

" _Snorunt, the snow hat pokémon. Ice type. They tend to move in groups of around five snorunt. In snowy regions, it is said that when they are seen late at night, snowfall will arrive by morning_."

"Ah, well hi there, snorunt. Are you trying to get out too?" Niko asked. The snorunt looked up at Niko, and then back to the lake, pointing to their right, where another cave entrance showed a group of four snorunt sitting there, jumping up and down. "Oh, you need to get back to your friends, huh?" Snorunt nodded, hardly looking at Niko. "Can't you swim?"

"Niko…" Brittany said, "I think it's afraid of water. Look, its cowering away from it."

She was right—the snorunt didn't like being near the water, trying to evade it whenever possible. Niko then crouched down to look at the thin layer of water on the ground, ebbing and flowing with the rest of the lake.

"Well, snorunt, I can understand that. When I was little, I didn't know how to swim at all. Can you believe that?" The snorunt looked at Niko, clearly interested in what he was saying. "Yeah, my dad kept trying to teach me, but I hated going underwater. I was also afraid of drowning. Once, a friend of mine played a prank on me where he pushed me underwater!"

"That's not much of a prank, Niko," Brittany said bluntly.

"I know, but he thought it was. Anyways, snorunt, point is I know what that's like. Listen, we've also got to get back to our friends, so how about we help you out, alright?"

Snorunt nodded slowly and cautiously, as if unsure if it could trust Niko. Eventually it nodded affirmatively.

"Great, let's do this then—together," Niko got back up and looked at Brittany. "So, we have two options. We could wait for the water to fall again, or we could freeze the lake."

"Freeze it? How?"

"Snorunt and spheal are ice types. They must know _something_ ," Niko explained, turning to the spheal at Brittany's side. It seemed happy to try and help out. "What moves does it learn?"

"Let me check," Brittany said, looking at her pokédex. "So, it can learn powder snow, ice ball, and aurora beam, for starters. Spheal, do any of those sound familiar to you?" The clap pokémon nodded, turning to the water and spraying it with small chunks of ice, instantly freezing the water around it. "Okay, guess that was powder snow. Great, can you friends help out too?"

Spheal nodded cheerfully, rolling over to the other spheal and coaxing them into helping again. Some of them seemed unsure, but for the most part the whole group were willing to help out, all contributing to creating a three-way bridge of ice between their cave entrance, snorunt's friends, and the exit back to the ocean.

Niko ran back, returned numel to its pokéball, and then came back to see Brittany and snorunt walking on the bridge.

"Be careful, snorunt," Niko cautioned, "Ice is pretty thin you know. Just try and balance your weight evenly," He explained, although he felt that the ice type would already know that. Snorunt took the advice all the same, slowly moving across the ice path in a rhythmic motion. However, Niko began to see cracks in the path, and it broke between the snorunt and its friends on the other side. Niko then began to move quickly over to the snow hat pokémon, but as he did so the ice underneath him broke, causing him to fall back into the water.

"Niko!" Brittany shouted. The spheal next to her jumped in to help, but as it did so Niko's head popped out of the water.

"It's cool, I've got this!" Niko said, turning to the thin slice of ice that snorunt was standing on. "I'll just push you over there, slowly, alright?"

Snorunt nodded, albeit nervously. Niko nodded too, and tried swimming and pushing it at the same time, which was far more difficult than he imagined it would be. Eventually, the two made it to the other entrance, and snorunt leaped off the ice and onto the ground, reuniting with its friends. Niko slowly made his way onto the ground as well to rest.

"Well snorunt, there you are. Now, I've gotta get back," He said as he saw Brittany and her spheal cross over to the exit. Getting up, he was about to jump back in when he felt a chill wind blow past him, freezing the ice ahead. Turning around, he saw all five snorunt using icy wind to create a path for him. "Wow…" Niko said, staring in awe at the snorunt. "Thanks, guys. I really appreciate it!"

The snorunt nodded, particularly the one Niko had helped. As he began to walk on the path towards Brittany and the exit, he noticed snorunt following him closely.

"What…?" Niko asked. The snorunt didn't bother to notice him, instead walking along the path, eventually overtaking him and making it to the exit with Brittany and spheal before Niko did. "Snorunt…why did you…?"

"Maybe it wants to travel with us?" Brittany asked. "I'm getting that vibe from spheal as well. Snorunt wants to thank you, I guess."

Niko crouched down to look at snorunt. "Well, snorunt, would you like to come with us? I'm aiming to be a pokémon master, and so we'll be doing a lot of battling, some of it might include water. Are you up for that?" Snorunt nodded slowly, taking in each of Niko's words. The brown-haired trainer nodded as well, pulling out a pokéball. "Well then, snorunt, let's go," He said, placing the pokéball on the ground. Snorunt tapped it, instantly going into the ball. It vibrated a few times before ultimately clicking, indicating that Niko had caught it. He looked over to see Brittany doing the same thing with spheal.

"Spheal, if you want to come with us, that'd be great. I'm sure you'll love Pokémon Contests," She smiled, eliciting a cheerful clapping from the seal-like pokémon. She then tapped it with the button on the pokéball, and moments later it too was captured. "C'mon, Niko, let's get out of here."

Niko smiled, got up, and exited the cave with his friend. JJ, Kev, and Jake were all sitting on the boat until they noticed the two trainers walking along the beach towards them.

"Niko! Brittany!" JJ shouted, leaping off of the boat and running towards his friends. "Wha-wha-what happened to you guys?"

"Got stuck in a cave, apparently. Also," Niko tossed out the pokéball in his hands containing snorunt. "Made a new friend," Brittany did the same with spheal, and JJ looked down at the two ice pokémon with some joy.

"Well, I'm glad you two are safe. By the way, Kev and I fixed the engine, so we should be good to go for Mossdeep. He'll have to properly fix it when we get there, but he thinks we have enough to get us going."

"Great to hear," Niko said. "Also, does he have some warm clothes we can borrow?" He asked, eliciting a laugh from his two friends as they walked back to the boat after a seemingly long day.


	41. The mystic combination!

**Episode 41: The mystic combination!**

After Niko and Brittany's adventure in the Shoal Cave, the group arrived in Mossdeep City, where Niko would battle for his seventh gym badge in Hoenn. It would be a double battle, something that he was not particular good at, and so he spent most of their first day outside the pokémon center training with his now full team of six pokémon.

He also recently caught snorunt, an ice type pokémon native to shoal cave. The snow hat pokémon seemed to enjoy meeting Niko's other pokémon, and seemed to take a quick liking to lairon, for whatever reason, and looked up at grovyle with admiration. Niko didn't plan on using it in his upcoming gym battle unless he had to, so he sat snorunt out from training that day and let it watch his pokémon master not just their moves, but also the idea of double battling. Throughout, snorunt watched in awe as the four other pokémon (excluding numel) jumped around the center's practice battlefield.

"What do you think, snorunt?" Niko asked, his arms crossed as he looked down at his newest pokémon.

"Sno!" The snow hat pokémon said eagerly. "Sno sno!"

"I take it you're enjoying it, then. Well, maybe after this we can do some training, just you and me," Niko said before calling his team back for lunch. As he did so, he noticed a familiar man with steel blue hair watching him from a distance. "Steven…?"

"Hey Niko," The former champion said, pushing off of the wall he was standing against and approached the younger trainer. "Long time no see. How are you?"

"I'm doing just fine! About to challenge Tate and Liza," Niko responded, shaking Steven's hand.

"Ah, well good luck. They're a handful. Or, at least, they used to be," Steven said, turning to Niko's companions. "Brittany, JJ, Jake, how are things?"

"Good!" Jake said, "Mudkip just learned rock smash! And I got a trapinch!"

"Ah, trapinch…nice choice. It's a strong pokémon if you raise it right," Steven said, winking, "Brittany, JJ, I've seen you both in the papers. Doing Pokémon Contests?"

"Err…yeah, actually. I just got my second ribbon in Lilycove," Brittany mentioned.

"And from the looks of it, you certainly earned it. You're on your way to the Grand Festival for sure," Steven said, smiling warmly. "There's actually a contest in Pacifidlog Town in a couple weeks, if you're interested. It's the last one before the Grand Festival in Slateport City."

"I should probably compete in that. Thanks, Steven!" Brittany said joyfully. Steven then turned to Niko's pokémon.

"I see you've been training a lot. Is this the same aron you caught back in the Granite Cave?" He asked, crouching down to meet Niko's lairon. The iron armor pokémon, recognizing Steven, cried out cheerfully. "It's nice to see you, too, lairon. It looks like Niko is doing a great job raising you."

"I do my best. I've actually learned a lot from training lairon," Niko replied, smiling down at the iron armor pokémon.

"Oh, really? How so?"

"I'm not used to battling with slower, more defensive pokémon. Usually I've been able to rely on speed in some way or another, but lairon had definitely changed that."

"I see. That's just the thing about steel types. Most of them are going to be slower, obviously because they generally weigh more. But, on the flip side, they can pack a nasty punch if their attacks land," Niko nodded in concurrence, but Steven wasn't finished talking. "Say, are you battling Tate and Liza today?"

"Yeah, I plan to after lunch," Niko replied.

"Mind if I watch?" Steven asked kindly.

"Oh, of course you can," Niko said, surprised that a former champion would want to watch his gym battle. No member of the Pokémon League has ever wanted to see him battle in an official capacity like this.

"Great, I'll meet you over at the gym in an hour. I need to head home and do some things first," Steven said.

"Wait, 'home'?" Brittany asked.

"Yeah. I live here," Steven smiled before turning away and leaving the pokémon center.

* * *

Niko and his friends arrived at the Mossdeep City Gym, only to see the door already open and Steven talking to some young adults who looked to be five or so years older than Niko and JJ. Steven turned to the group as they walked into the gym—which looked like any standard gym battlefield, with light purple lights surrounding and illuminating the field and stands.

"Oh, Niko! Welcome," Steven said, pulling Niko into a handshake. "Meet the two gym leaders of Mossdeep City—Tate and Liza."

"Pleased to," the male said. Both of the gym leaders had dark blue hair and eyes, both in a bun in the back of their heads. They also both wore dark blue outfits with pokéballs surrounded by rings on them, as well as light blue slippers.

"Meet you," the female said.

"Uh, hey. I'm Niko from Pallet Town. I'd like a chance to challenge you for my seventh gym badge."

"No problem, Niko, I'm Tate."

"And I'm Liza."

"We can get,"

"Started as soon as you wish."

"It'll be a four on four match,"

"If you are alright with that."

Niko shook his head, finding the twins finishing each other's sentences to be weird enough. "Yeah, yeah, let's do it. I can do a four-on-four match," he said, and moments later the twins were off to the far end of the battlefield.

"They're an odd couple, aren't they?" JJ commented as he, Brittany, Jake, and Steven all sat in the stands.

"They can be a bit much sometimes, but they've both matured a lot since they first took over the gym," Steven observed. "They're always a pleasure to be around nowadays. They're just…an acquired taste, I guess."

"Gotcha," Brittany said. "Think Niko has a chance?"

"I think so. But I've also never seen him battle before. What do you think?" Steven said, turning the question back on Brittany.

"He's been having trouble with double battling recently. It seems like he isn't very good at it."

"Well, I get that. It's not the easiest battling in the world. But, I do wish more gym leaders utilized it. It's a good thing to teach trainers," Steven said as the battle was about to begin.

Tate and Liza pulled out their pokéballs at the same time, summoning their first couple of pokémon simultaneously.

"Claydol, I choose you!" Liza aid.

"Xatu, I choose you!" Tate said.

"Grovyle, manectric, let's go!" Niko shouted, summoning his first two pokémon as well. "Grovyle, leaf blade on Claydol, manectric use quick attack and spark on xatu!"

"Claydol, psychic on grovyle!"

"Xatu, psychic on manectric!"

The combined power of the two psychic attacks were enough to hurtle grovyle and manectric into each other, bringing them back onto the ground, already badly hurt. Niko commanded the same moves as last time, only to be met with light screen from claydol—which nullified manectric's spark—and psychic from xatu, which caused the discharge pokémon to crash into the stands to its left. Grovyle managed to land its attack, but was also vulnerable to the psychic attack, and was flung directly into the ground below.

"Oh no…" Brittany said, looking at the state of Niko's pokémon after only a few moves. Grovyle was having difficulty getting back up, as was manectric, but the two did so nonetheless, and continued attacking, this time from a distance.

"Grovyle, bullet seed! Manectric, shock wave!" Niko shouted, throwing his hand out.

"Claydol, ancientpower!" Liza commanded. Tate's xatu use calm mind, but the attack was quickly disrupted by the blue lightning of the shock wave crashing down upon it. Manectric then got hit with the ancientpower. The discharge pokémon looked on the verge of defeat already.

"Manectric, return," Niko said. "Numel, I choose you! Ember on xatu!"

The numb pokémon burst out of the pokéball, ready to fire off small ember bursts at the mystic pokémon. Xatu dodged both and dove down at numel, as if it were about to use steel wing. Instead, its eyes glowed a bright purple color, and numel was lifted off of its feet and flung into the air.

"Numel, ember downwards!" Niko shouted. "Grovyle, bullet seed on claydol!"

The wood gecko, who had been doing battle with claydol, nodded and continued its attack. Claydol responded with ancientpower once more, which grovyle agilely dodged until it was hit with another psychic, which repelled it backwards in the direction of its trainer.

"Grovyle, you alright?" Niko asked, turning to his grass type. Grovyle nodded, although pained to do so, but quickly got back up and continued its onslaught of rapid-fire seeds. "Switch it up with leaf blade again! It looks like it's slowing down!"

Grovyle nodded, and rushed forward at its opponent. But Liza shook her head, and commanded claydol to use psychic once more. However, she underestimated grovyle's speed, as it leapt into the air and spun around, slamming the glowing green blades from each arm into its opponent, knocking claydol into the ground.

Meanwhile, xatu and numel were exchanging attacks. The onslaught of psychic type moves seemed to be agitating numel, in addition to its inability to directly hit its opponent. Clearly frustrate, fire suddenly erupted out of the hole on Numel's hump. Niko, just as surprised as anyone, was unsure of what the fire type was going to do next. Numel then released a powerful stream of fire at xatu, engulfing it in the hot orange flames, and causing it to fall back to the ground, its wings covered in burn marks.

"Numel, was that flamethrower?" Niko asked in surprise. The numb pokémon nodded without looking at its trainer, its eyes focused solely on xatu. It then ran forward (as fast as a pokémon of its size could) and tackled xatu before unleashing another round of flamethrower, ending the mystic pokemon's battle.

"Xatu is unable to battle, grovyle and numel win!" The judge to the side of the field stated.

"Xatu, return," Tate said. "Niko, I will save my second pokémon until you defeat Liza's claydol. That's how our gym generally operates," Liza nodded in agreement.

"Claydol, use psychic on numel!"

"Grovyle, don't let it! Disrupt the psychic with leaf blade, and follow up with mega drain!" Niko shouted. The wood gecko sprang back into action, jumping into the air, spinning, and landing its blade into one of claydol's many eyes. As it was reeling from the attack, grovyle grabbed onto the clay doll pokémon and began to glow a bright green color, indicating that it was taking health away from its enemy. The psychic disrupted, numel turned its attention to claydol, and unleashed a powerful flamethrower, completely disregarding grovyle. "Watch out!" Niko shouted, and the wood gecko jumped out of the way at the last second and watched as claydol fell into the ground and collapsed forward.

"Claydol is also unable to battle, grovyle and numel win!" The judge declared. "Leaders Tate and Liza will send out their final two pokémon!"

"Lunatone, I choose you!" Liza said.

"Solrock, I choose you!" Tate said. Curious, Niko pulled out his pokédex to see both of these unfamiliar pokémon, shaped like a moon and sun, respectively:

" _Lunatone, the meteorite pokémon. Rock and psychic type. Lunatone becomes active around the time of the full moon. Instead of walking, it moves by floating in midair using telekinesis. The pokemon's intimidating red eyes cause all those who see it to become transfixed with fear_."

" _Solrock, the meteorite pokémon. Rock and psychic type. Solrock is a new species of pokémon that is said to have fallen from space. It floats in the air and moves silently. In battle, this pokémon releases intensely bright light_."

"Well then," Niko commented upon looking at the two rather large rock types floating in front of him. "We can do this…grovyle, use leaf blade on solrock! Numel, flamethrower on lunatone!"

"Lunatone, hypnosis on numel!" Liza commanded.

"Solrock, flamethrower on grovyle!" Tate commanded, shocking Niko and the wood gecko pokémon, who clearly didn't expect this. The grass type was quickly engulfed in a powerful stream of fire, repelling it into the ground below, instantly defeated.

"Grovyle is unable to battle, lunatone and solrock win!" The judge declared.

 _What to do, what to do…_ Niko thought, trying to find a way to defeat these two. "Numel, return! Lairon, manectric, let's go! Iron tail and shock wave!"

"Lunatone!"

"Solrock!"

"Psychic!" Both trainers commanded as their rock type pokemon's eyes began to glow, lifting manectric and lairon into the air before dropping them.

"Lairon, iron tail the ground!" Niko commanded, suggesting that the iron armor pokémon cushion its fall. "Manectric, quick attack!" The discharge pokémon, still weak from the several rounds of psychic attacks, nodded and burst towards the ground, helping it to land and launch itself forward at its opponents. "Use shock wave!"

Manectric's fur began to charge up, allowing it to release forward in the form of blue lightning at solrock, who tried to deflect with flamethrower, but wasn't quick enough on the release. The electrified solrock reeled back a bit as manectric slammed it again, this time with spark.

Lairon, meanwhile, tried hitting lunatone with iron tail, but was struggling due to the difficulties of getting into the air, as the meteorite pokémon was levitating in the air. Lunatone responded by using calm mind and following up with psychic, which seemed to hurt lairon more than either it or Niko expected it to.

"Lunatone, hypnosis!" Liza commanded. Lairon looked up as lunatone's eyes began to glow and small rings shot out from them in the iron armor pokemon's direction. Lairon fell asleep, but not before manectric managed to slam into lunatone and release a close-ranged shock wave, knocking the moon-shaped pokémon through the air. "Gather yourself, lunatone! Use hypnosis on manectric too!"

"Close your eyes, buddy. Try to avoid it," Niko said calmly to the discharge pokémon. Once the attack passed by manectric without effect, the electric type rushed forward again, evading a flamethrower from solrock and slamming into lunatone once more.

"Solrock, sunny day!" Tate commanded. There was a skylight in the center of the gym's ceiling, and Niko and his pokémon immediately felt it get warmer and brighter in the gym. "Now, solarbeam!"

"Manectric, shock wave!" Niko commanded.

"Lunatone, light screen!" Liza shouted. All three attacks fired off, with manectric taking the beam of solar energy after releasing blue lightning characteristic of shock wave. Lunatone conjured a light purple screen in front of it which blocked the shock wave as manectric got hit with the solarbeam and was defeated.

"Manectric is unable to battle! Lunatone and solrock win!" The judge declared. "Niko will now send out his last pokémon!"

"Numel, I'm counting on you, buddy!" Niko shouted, summoning his fire type, who also happened to be asleep. He bit his finger— _how can I win this? Both of my pokémon are asleep now…_ He continued to think for a moment, and luckily the twins gave him a few moments before continuing their attacks.

"Lunatone, calm mind," Liza said plainly.

"Solrock, use solarbeam on numel!" Tate shouted, knowing that without the numb pokémon on the field, they had a better chance of winning.

"Lairon…" Niko said calmly. "You gotta wake up…we can't lose this lairon, not now…" Niko continued to talk while solrock released its solarbeam. Lunatone continued to casually float in the air, its eyes closed as if it were meditating or sleeping. "Lairon…"

"Lunatone, use psychic now!"

"LAIRON!" Niko shouted. Suddenly, the iron armor pokémon woke up and dug into the ground in an attempt to avoid the psychic. It didn't, and shot through the ground and into the air, carried by lunatone's powerful psychic mind. The solarbeam successfully hit numel, which evidently also woke it up. "Lairon, use iron tail!"

"Pfft, that's not gonna work…" Liza said in a matter-of-factly tone. "Lunatone and I have control of it."

"Do you?" Niko asked, his eyebrow raised. He turned to numel, who somehow understood the strategy he was thinking of. Numel blasted out a flamethrower at lunatone, which disrupted its psychic attack, causing it to lose its mental grip on lairon. "Now lairon, iron tail! Numel, flamethrower on solrock!"

"Solrock, retaliate with flamethrower!" Tate commanded. While both flamethrowers were creating a stalemate on one side of the field, lairon fell forward through the air and somersaulted as if it were grovyle using pound, and slammed its glowing gray tail atop lunatone's head, sending the meteorite pokémon into the ground, defeated.

"Lunatone is unable to battle, lairon and numel win!" The judge stated.

"That's right, lairon! You did it!" Niko shouted. "Now, let's defeat solrock! Numel, keep up that flamethrower! Lairon, run up towards solrock and take the hit!"

"What!?" Brittany shouted in the stands. "What's Niko doing?"

"No freakin' idea, but he has something in mind," JJ said, intensely watching his friend battle. Lairon placed itself in front of numel, taking the flamethrower to the head, enduring it as much as it could.

"Numel, run off of lairon's back and jump towards solrock!" Niko shouted, pumping his fist forward. The numb pokémon turned to Niko as if he were crazy, but nodded all the same and obliged.

"Solrock, psychic!" Tate commanded, as he saw what Niko was going to do and wanted to stop it quickly. Solrock lifted lairon into the air quickly, but not quick enough to stop numel, who leapt onto lairon and took another jump off of lairon's head and through the air, successfully landing on solrock. "What!?"

"Yes! Numel, magnitude!" He shouted.

"No! H-how?" Tate cried out as numel aggressively shook solrock's body in the air. "It has the levitate ability! Ground type moves shouldn't work!"

"They shouldn't if its used on the ground," Niko explained. "Solrock is made of rock, right? Rocks come from the earth, and I thought maybe magnitude would work that way. Guess it did."

Solrock, shaken to the core by numel, collapsed with the fire type onto the ground. Lairon and numel, both incredibly exhausted as well, were about to collapse as well, but turned to the judge before they could.

"Looks like solrock is unable to battle. Lairon and numel win, which means that the victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!"

"Lairon, numel…" Niko said, approaching his two tired pokémon. "You both made me very proud just now. We pulled off two moves that were really risky, and they paid off. This badge is for you guys," He said, petting both pokémon. For once numel seemed quite pleased with Niko's praise, even trying to nuzzle its trainer before collapsing from exhaustion.

Tate and Liza both approached Niko while his friends exited the stands to join him. "Niko…honestly, we're not sure how you pulled those moves off, but trust us, we've seen weirder things before," Tate said with a wry smile.

"Here is the mind badge, as proof of your victory here," Liza said, smiling warmly as Niko picked the pink and yellow heart-shaped badge from her palm.

"Thanks, you two. I prepared a lot for this battle, and I think I learned a lot from it. I appreciated having this battle."

"Our pleasure, Niko,"

"It's our job, after all," Liza said. Suddenly, Niko felt a hand on his shoulder. He immediately turned around to see Steven looking at him.

"That was one hell of a battle, Niko. Kudos."

"Thanks, Steven. I'm glad you got to see it."

"Say, Steven, want to join us for a celebratory meal?" JJ asked. "We usually do it while we're planning where to go next."

"Sure, I've got some extra time to kill. I have to be at the space station later anyways. Tate, Liza, I'll see you then."

The twins concurred as the group turned around to exit the gym. While Niko's victory was a big deal to all of them, it was Jake who seemed way more excited to see the Space Center that Niko had to coax the former champion into letting them check it out. Steven easily obliged, and the group set off for the Pokémon Center to figure out their next course of action on their journey.

* * *

 **Author's note: Yeah, yeah, the way lunatone and solrock were defeated is weird, to put it bluntly. I was interested in seeing how magnitude would look in writing if it was used on a levitating pokemon, and it seemed fine enough to me. The anime (and, really, the games too) defy logic in many ways. This might defy logic as well, but I don't think it's radical enough to be outside of the norms already set by this universe. Regardless, I hope you enjoy!**


	42. The battle at the Space Center

**Episode 42: The battle at the Space Center**

After Niko won the Mind Badge from Tate and Liza in the Mossdeep City Gym, him, his brother, and his friends joined former champion Steven for a second lunch in the Pokémon Center. While Jake was enthralling the ex-champion with his interest in space, Niko, Brittany, and JJ sat down and figured out where to go next. Since Niko only needed one gym badge at this point, it wasn't terribly difficult.

"So, just Sootopolis City now, right Niko?" JJ asked, looking up at his friend, who was busy scrolling around on the pokénav's map app.

"Yup. Looks like the leader uses water types," He commented.

"Indeed he does," Steven said, interrupting his own reply to Jake about rocket ships to discuss the final gym leader. "Juan uses water types, and is quite skilled in doing so. Fun fact: this is his second stint as gym leader. Wallace, the current champion, was a gym leader in between Juan's times as gym leader."

"So he's been around for a while," Niko said.

"Pretty much, yeah," Steven said, laughing a little. "But don't underestimate him just because you have a grass and an electric type, though. He understands that those are easy types of pokémon to come by, and is ready to combat them in more ways than you might imagine."

"I think I can do it," Niko said, "my team and I have beaten gym leaders like that before."

"Just some friendly advice," Steven said, smiling warmly. "So, how do you all plan on getting to Sootopolis?"

"Well, err…" JJ began. "Our ride, Kev, had to fix his boat and head back to Lilycove immediately, actually."

"Well, if it's no trouble, I don't mind taking you guys there. I might not be able to stay for your gym battle, Niko, but I can certainly get you there. It isn't too far away, maybe a day by boat?"

"That would be great, Steven. We'd appreciate that," Niko said, thankful for having Steven's help from time to time. "Now, you said you could take us to the Space Center?" Steven nodded, and stood up out of the booth they were all sitting in to lead them off to the Space Center on the other end of the city.

Even though Jake was by far the most interested in actually seeing the Space Center, Niko quickly found it fascinating as well, as did Brittany and JJ. It was a massively tall building with an enormous telescope and satellite sitting on the roof. Behind it was a launching facility for rockets, with two hold-down arms on opposite ends of the pad designed to hold the rocket in place before launch. It should be noted that this launch pad was over a mile off, but still visible nonetheless due to the flatness of the land surrounding it.

"So Mossdeep City was chosen to host this Space Center due to its climate being ideal for any rocket launch. Obviously, you don't want it raining or too windy during a launch, and Mossdeep others neither of those climates. Its generally sunny year-round, and the winds aren't strong enough to be disruptive."

"That figures," Niko said, seeming interested in Steven's explanation. Once they walked into the Space Center, however, they were through the roof in excitement, especially Jake. He ran around the place looking at display cases showing different rockets while JJ and Brittany walked over to a giant monitor depicting the trajectory of a planned space flight. Niko was off trying to calm Jake down while Steven went about his business with one of the leading scientists on the upcoming mission—Professor Cozmo.

"Afternoon, Cozmo," Steven said, walking up to the professor and shaking his hand.

"Oh, hello Steven. Hope all is well," Cozmo said as he looked up from his computer. "You're here to see the plans for the rocket launch?"

"Yes, indeed. How is everything coming along?" Steven asked as Cozmo got up from his desk, grabbed some folders and led the ex-champion up to the second floor. Niko saw them leave out of the corner of his eye, wondering what exactly they were discussing.

"As planned. Our rocket is on course to meet the mysterious space rock, according to our calculations. Soon we should be able to launch it," Cozmo said, placing the folders on the table before them and laying out what appeared to be the blueprints of the rocket.

"Niko, can we go upstairs?" Jake asked as his brother was examining the model of a rover. Niko nodded, and the two walked to the second floor with Brittany and JJ behind them. There they saw Steven and Cozmo over a table, pointing to things on the blueprints and pulling more papers out of the folders. "What are they doing?" Jake queried.

"I think they're planning a rocket launch bud," Niko said, motioning Jake over to the window where they could see the hold-down arms and launch pad off in the distance. "See? That's where they're going to launch—woah, wait," He said, squinting his eyes. "What's that?"

"What's what?" Steven asked, looking up from his blueprints and walking over to the window. "Cozmo, when did you say you were expected to launch the rocket?"

Cozmo gave a bemused look. "A week from now. Why?"

"Because it doesn't look like it…" Steven said, motioning the professor over. When he got to the window, a look of fear covered his face.

"Oh dear. That's not good," Cozmo said before sprinting down the stairs, immediately followed by Steven.

"Kids, wait here!" Steven said before turning back to pursue Cozmo.

"What's going on?" Brittany asked before looking at the launch pad. "Who is that over there?"

Niko gave a slightly grim look. "Hard to tell, but I can see something that looks like Team Magma. We need to go and help."

"But Steven said to wait here," JJ said. "I don't think we need to get involved every time."

"We don't," Niko said, "But…what they plan on doing might affect us, too. We can't just let that slide."

"Niko's right," Brittany said, pulling out a pokéball. Pichu also made a tiny fist as if it were also determined to fight. "Let's go and see what's happening."

The group then ran down the stairs and out to the back of the Space Center. After successfully evading a pair of guards, they made a run for the launch pad. As they got closer, they heard and saw an explosion off in the distance, and fire bursting from a much smaller source. After the resulting smoke cloud dissipated, Niko noticed Courtney and her camerupt standing there.

"Yep, that's Team Magma…" Niko said, pulling out a pokéball. "Guys, let's go," He said decisively, running off to help Steven and Cozmo, who were both trying to fend off Courtney. "Swellow, aerial ace!"

"Torchic, use fire spin!" Brittany commanded. "Wartortle, water gun!"

"Umbreon, shadow ball!" JJ shouted.

"Mudkip, use water gun! Trapinch, sand tomb!" Jake shouted, throwing out two pokéballs. All of the pokémon collided with a group of Team Magma's collection of zubats, numels, and poochyenas.

"Niko! I told you to stay away!" Steven said before dodging a flamethrower.

"We're here to help! We've dealt with them before, trust me!" Niko said, "Swellow, aerial ace on camerupt!"

Steven sighed before turning back to his pokémon, a massive four-legged creature made of steel. "Metagross, use meteor mash on camerupt!"

"Ah, Niko…" Courtney said plainly, but with a wry smile. "Figures you'd be here. Somehow, we always seem to meet up. Camerupt use eruption!"

"Swellow, dodge with double team, and then follow up with aerial ace!" Niko commanded. "And, yeah, somehow. But you're done this time. We're all gonna stop you, right here, right now."

"Is that so? But, even if you stop us, you still have Team Aqua and the Draconids to deal with," Courtney said, smirking.

"Wait, what?" Niko said, cocking his head slightly to try and absorb what Courtney was telling him. "What do you mean 'and the Draconids?' I get Team Aqua, but why the others?"

"Oh, you sweet, naïve little boy," Courtney said before commanding a flamethrower at metagross, who deflected it with a psychic attack. "The Draconids are just as evil as Team Aqua is. They have the same goals as them and us. Haven't you realized that yet?"

"No, I haven't," Niko said, pacing back and forth. "I've only met Zinnia twice, and she—"

"—And she never told you much about herself or her cult, did she?" Courtney said grimly. "Pfft, whatever. You can waste your time on us, or you can pursue the real enemy."

"You're here to interfere with the rocket launch though!" Steven spat out, "Why would we pursue anyone else?"

"You're even stupider as an ex-champion," Courtney snapped back. "No, we're here for the same reasons you are—to go to space and get that space rock. It's our key to stopping the Draconids."

"Why do you want to stop them?" Niko asked.

"So they won't interfere with _our_ plans. Zinnia is the biggest threat to not just us and Team Aqua, but to the world as we know it. Tell me, Niko, what do you know about Rayquaza?"

"That is stopped the fight between Groudon and Kyogre and it has the Air Lock ability."

"The Air Lock ability!" Courtney shouted out. "Exactly! And Air Lock does what? It regulates the weather! Imagine what that could do if put in the wrong hands!" Courtney threw her arms out, the battle clearly over, as none of the pokémon were attacking.

"But if we stop her, then we still have to deal with you. Why not get rid of you now?" Niko asked, pulling out another pokéball. "We can deal with Zinnia later."

"That's your choice, Niko. But it's not a choice we're going to let you make for us. Team Magma, attack!" Courtney shouted, re-commencing the battle.

* * *

Meanwhile, Brittany, JJ, and Jake were off challenging grunts left and right. "Torchic, fire spin on those poochyena! Wartortle, rapid spin and water gun on those numel!"

"Umbreon, shadow ball! Shroomish, use stun spore!" JJ shouted as his mushroom pokémon released a thick cloud of yellow dust towards the grunts and their pokémon, freezing them in their place while umbreon, mudkip, and trapinch took them down one by one. However, as it happened, the grunts came back with more pokémon.

"Mudkip, water gun! Trapinch, faint attack!" Jake commanded. "Guys, there's too many of them…"

"I know, Jake, we can do this, though," Brittany said, noticing how exhausted her torchic and wartortle were. Suddenly, a numel came rushing towards the chick pokémon. "Torchic, watch out!" As torchic looked up to see the numel, it was about to run when wartortle jumped in front of it to intercept the attack. "Wartortle!" Brittany shouted while the turtle pokémon collapsed onto the ground. The brunette ran over to pick her first pokémon up from the ground. In the distance, they could hear Courtney shouting something about the Draconids, but it was irrelevant to what was laying before her. Wartortle was clearly badly injured, since the numel hit it at an unbelievably fast speed.

"Pfft, stupid water pokémon. Can't you do any better?" The grunt smirked. "Numel, finish them off with flamethrower!"

Just when the numb pokémon opened fire on the human and two pokémon next to her, torchic jumped in front and responded with fire spin, blocking the flamethrower. As it did so, it began to glow a bright white color and grew to twice its size. Torchic—now evolved—had longer arms and legs with longer, sharper talons. It was now a light orange color with a darker orange hue below the waist.

"Busk!" It shouted out as Courtney re-initiated the battle between her, Steven, and Niko. Combusken then rushed forward at the numel, its right foot glowing white. When it approached numel it slammed its right talon into numel's side repeatedly before leaping into the air and somersaulting, landing its right foot down on numel's head, quickly defeating it.

"What!?" The grunt shouted.

"Torchic—no, err—whatever you are, use fire spin!" Brittany shouted.

"Brittany!" JJ said, "It's called combusken, according to my pokédex. It's a fire and fighting type. That move it used was called double kick! Now, umbreon faint attack! Shroomish, mega drain!"

"Wow, thanks, JJ," Brittany said, smiling as she saw combusken throwing a series of kicks at a group of zubats and numels. "Combusken, finish them off with fire spin!" As she laid out more commands, pichu leapt off of her shoulder where it was placed for most of the battle and ran towards the grunts.

"Piiiiii-chuuuu!" It shouted, rubbing its red cheeks and emitting a small electric shock, zapping the actual grunts while combusken engulfed their pokémon in flames.

"That's right, pichu!" Brittany shouted happily. "Use thundershock!"

* * *

"Swellow, double team and aerial ace!" Niko commanded.

"Metagross, meteor mash!" Steven shouted. Both pokémon rushed towards the camerupt, who was managing to hold its own against the two pokémon. "Give it up, Courtney, we've got you beat!"

"Pfft, whatever you say," Courtney replied lazily. Just then, a purple beam of energy collided with the ground to her right, causing her to jump to the left and look up viciously. "No!"

"Salamence, use dragon rage!" Shouted Zinnia. "We don't miss this time!"

"Camerupt, flamethrower!" Courtney commanded. "And I won't miss an opportunity to knock you off that dragon of yours."

Zinnia and salamence dodged the attacks before landing on the ground. She quickly eyed Niko, but turned her attention back to Courtney, and the two began their own battle.

"Niko, get the others back to safety, alright? I'll meet up with you after this is through," Steven said, grabbing Niko's shoulder.

"Are you sure? We can help you!" Niko said in protest.

"You've done more than enough. Right now, your friends need you," Steven said, looking over to the other three trainers, who were crowded over Brittany and wartortle. "That's part of being a leader, Niko. Making sure your team is okay."

Niko nodded. "Alright, got it," He ran over to Brittany and tapped her on the shoulder. "Let's get out of here."

"But why?" Brittany asked.

"Steven told us so. He's got it from here," Niko said, helping Brittany up while JJ carried wartortle. The group and their pokémon rushed off back to the Space Center, and from there to the Pokémon Center.

"Is wartortle going to be alright?" Brittany asked Nurse Joy.

"Looks like it. But it won't be able to battle for a few days. It took quite the hit to the stomach," She said as the four of them and the nurse stood outside wartortle's room. The turtle pokémon was sound asleep on a bed.

"I hate Team Magma…" Brittany said, clearly angry. Pichu looked up at its trainer and tugged on the collar of Brittany's shirt. "Hi, pichu," She said, feeling relieved of her anger. "You did great out there. I'm really proud of you," She then turned to combusken. "You too. You saved us, combusken. Thank you."

"Busk," Combusken said, nodding as it turned back to wartortle. It had a mixture of guilt and determination in its eyes, as if it blamed itself for wartortle's injury, and wanted to defeat Team Magma because of it.

"C'mon guys, let's go," Niko said, motioning JJ and Jake back to their booth where they would have dinner. "I wonder when Steven's gonna get back."

"No idea. Think he got rid of Courtney and Zinnia on his own?" JJ asked.

"Likely not. I'm really not sure why he wanted us to leave, especially when Zinnia got there. It makes no sense!" Niko said, frustrated. Just as he said that, he saw the former champion walk through the door.

"Niko, JJ, Jake, how is everything?" Steven said as he sat down next to JJ. "Is Brittany alright?"

"Yeah, she's fine. Her wartortle got beat up pretty badly, so she's watching it with her other pokémon," Niko said. "What happened after we left?"

"Well, Courtney and Zinnia fought for a bit, but once metagross and I intervened Courtney and her grunts escaped. I tried to talk to Zinnia, but she also fled. I then went back to the Space Center to make sure everything was alright there. Turns out, nothing was damaged, there or at the launch pad. It was all so bizarre."

"What do you think is going on with them?" Niko asked, still pondering what Courtney said about Zinnia.

"Honestly, not sure. I'm going to look more into it, though. There's also the mysterious absence of Team Aqua. There's been no reported activity from them recently. But trust me, we'll figure this out."

"Alright then. Good to know," Niko said. "Please let us know how we can help."

"Of course. You were quite formidable against Courtney. And, from the looks of it, your friends were helpful as well," Steven said, smiling admiringly at Jake and JJ as well. "But, time to get some rest. We're heading for Sootopolis in the morning. Meet here at eight am?"

"Got it," Niko said, and Steven got up from the booth and exited the Pokémon Center.


	43. The pokésnorkel

**Episode 43: The pokésnorkel**

Wartortle seemed to have recovered a bit by the following morning, when the group would leave with Steven to Sootopolis City. The turtle pokémon—injured in a battle with Team Magma—left the Pokémon Center with Brittany as the group met with the ex-champion.

"Morning, all," Steven said happily as Niko, Brittany, JJ, and Jake all walked out of the center. "Ready to go?" They nodded, albeit still tired. Niko and JJ were up late talking the previous night about a variety of things. They would sometimes do this simply to kill time if they didn't need to be up early. Usually they would brainstorm new training techniques, look up moves, talk about the road ahead, or even reminisce about their previous adventures. Brittany stayed up to talk with her friends for a bit before crashing on her bed next to pichu and tangela, and Jake went to bed early naturally, with his pokémon lying beside him as well. "Well, I've rented a boat for us to take down to Sootopolis City. It'll probably take about a day or so, if that's alright with you all."

"Yeah, whatever works!" Niko said, still trying to wake up. Steven nodded before motioning the four trainers down the street to the Mossdeep City harbor, where he briefly talked with a sailor who directed him to their boat.

"Perfect, thanks Morgan," Steven said, shaking the sailor's hand.

"No problem, anything for Mr. Stone," Morgan said in a heavy accent. "Just try to bring her back in one piece, alright?"

"Ah, you know me Morg. No promises," Steven said with a sly wink before leading the trainers over to the boat. It was noticeably smaller than Kev's, but since they didn't plan on spending the night on the sea, it would work out just fine. "Just drop off your stuff over there. There's nowhere to sleep on this ship, unless you're alright with sleeping on the deck. But anyways," He said as he walked up to the steering wheel. "Let's get this show on the road!"

He fired up the engine of the boat and maneuvered it out of the harbor. As they cruised out of the city and onto Route 127, the group walked to the edges of the deck to see the ocean beyond them, summoning their pokémon to join them. While most of them had already seen it before on their journey to Mossdeep City, snorunt hadn't. Niko held the snow hat pokémon in his arms as they looked at the expanse of water going on for dozens upon dozens of miles. Snorunt looked at it with amazement in its eyes.

"The world is pretty cool, isn't it, snorunt?" Niko asked as he also looked around. Even though they've seen more of the sea on their adventures in Hoenn than they ever have before, it never seemed to get old. Niko distinctly remembered the first time they saw the sea back in Kanto, when they got to the eastern coast near Bill's house, and then again before they got to Lavender Town.

"Sno!" The ice pokémon cried out as it saw a school of remoraid swimming below. However, Niko was more preoccupied by the flock of wingulls flying in the air. Again, it made him think of Melinda, and wondered where she was on her journey, and how she was doing.

 _Why the hell am I still thinking about her?_ Niko, troubled by this, began thinking. _I hardly know the woman, and we're just friends, right? Then why does everything seem to remind me of her?_ He frowned a little, trying to push the thoughts away, but they came back more prominent. Suddenly, he imagined tightly embracing her. _Shut up Niko!_ He then began to feel sick to his stomach, and imagined her comforting him.

"Err, I've got to sit down…" He said, placing snorunt on the ground and walking over to where Steven was. Luckily, there was a passenger seat, and he slumped into it, looking a pale green color.

"You alright, Niko?" Steven asked as he turned to the brown-haired trainer.

"I get motion sick pretty easily," Niko admitted, trying to stare straight ahead, just as his parents taught him.

"Oh, you should have said something, then," The ex-champion said with sympathy. "I used to get that a lot as a kid, too. I guess maybe I grew out of it, but I understand how you feel."

"I have ways to deal with it. One of them is sleeping," Niko said with a slight chuckle as he began to fall asleep.

While Niko was asleep, Brittany, JJ, and Jake sat on the deck with their pokémon. Some slept, like numel and wartortle, and others watched the sea, like snorunt, trapinch, and spheal. Mostly, the pokémon stuck with their trainers as the three played small card games that they packed specifically for occasions such as these. JJ, who secretly loves card games, taught Jake how to play a few while Brittany was brushing her pichu and combusken, as well as JJ's growlithe and umbreon.

Steven eventually stopped the boat after several hours of travel to eat for himself, as well as show the group something. "Hey, guys," The ex-champion said as he got out of his seat, sandwich in hand, and walked over to the edge of the boat. "Look down here,"

The group—which included a now awakened Niko—followed Steven to the edge and looked over. There, they noticed the water was a noticeably darker shade of blue and what appeared to be a long ravine running under the water.

"What is this…?" Brittany asked as she peered over the railing of the boat.

"This is the Great Hoenn Ravine. People often come here to swim around above the ravine, and some even go deeper to see what's underwater," Steven said with some admiration. "Occasionally, they go there in search of underwater pokémon."

"Underwater pokémon?" JJ asked.

"Yeah, there's a few here in Hoenn. Relicanth, chinchou, clamperl…they're all specific to the depths of the ocean. Interesting pokémon, too, if you ask me."

The group continued to look at the massive ravine below them. It seemed to go on for miles. Moments later, they turned around to see Steven standing there in swimming shorts. He then summoned his metagross—a massive, four-legged steel creature—and hopped onto it. The metagross folded its four legs above its head and floated off of the boat and dropped Steven into the water.

"You guys can come on it, too," He shouted. "I think it'd be a good experience for you all!"

"Sure!" JJ said, tossing off his shirt and shoes, leaving only his shorts on. He was about to jump over the railing, but hesitated. Instead, metagross floated back up to carry the curly blonde trainer into the water.

Brittany was less willing, but eventually did so. She wanted to bring wartortle with her, but the water type needed to rest, and so she went with JJ's marill.

"Niko, can I go too?" Jake asked while holding mudkip, who looked thrilled at the idea of swimming around. Niko hesitated, but nodded, saying he would be watching his brother like a hawk. Jake had learned how to swim earlier in his life than Niko had, and thoroughly enjoyed it, unlike Niko, and so it wasn't much of a problem.

As he was changing into some shorts, Niko turned to snorunt, who he remembered was afraid of water. The snow hat pokémon looked intrigued at its trainer jumping into the water, but chose to stay with the other pokémon and watch.

"Be good, snorunt. I'll be back in a bit," Niko said as he and Jake boarded metagross to go into the water, leaving his entire team of pokémon behind. The water, when he initially jumped into it, felt as cold as ice. He looked over and saw Brittany, Jake, and JJ all splashing water at each other while Steven was swimming around underwater. Moments later he came back up for air.

"How's the water feel, Niko?" He asked.

"Cold, but fine. It's been awhile since I've really gone swimming."

"Same here, if you can believe that. Hey, metagross, can you bring us the pokésnorkel?" The floating steel creature nodded and floated back up. With the help of grovyle and snorunt, the iron leg pokémon brought down five pairs of snorkeling devices. Steven picked them up and tossed them to each trainer. "So, normally when you go snorkeling, you can only go about a foot or so underwater. These—developed by Devon Corp.—allow you to go further. Here, try them on."

Niko grabbed the device, which was just a mouthpiece with some goggles attached to it. How the technology worked, he truly had no idea. But he trusted Steven, who certainly wouldn't be giving him malfunctioning technology. After putting it on he dove down into the water to test it out.

The underwater was absolutely beautiful, and relatively easy to see, thanks to the goggles. The snorkel also seemed to be working somehow. To his left he saw Brittany, JJ, and marill swimming downwards as well. To his right was Jake, mudkip, and Steven. Jake seemed to be enjoying it, discovering coral and the occasional pokémon with the mud fish. He then noticed Steven beckoning him further downwards. After taking a look at his brother, Niko nodded and continued swimming deeper.

He continued until they were in the massive ravine, where the ex-champion continued swimming deeper. Now, Niko realized, Brittany, JJ, Jake, and marill and mudkip were also following him. Eventually they reached a relatively large hold in the wall, and Steven swam through it and then in an upwards direction. Niko followed suit, and soon saw a light at the surface of the water.

After reaching the surface, he looked around to see that they were in a cavern of sorts, with pointed rocks jutting from the ceiling. Heads then popped up around him, and each trainer in turn took off their pokésnorkel so that they could speak.

"Where are we?" Brittany and Niko asked simultaneously, getting out of the water and standing up on the sandy beach underneath them.

"This…" Steven said, arms wide out. "Is the Seafloor Cavern. You're probably wondering why in the heck I brought you here, but let me explain. You see, this is where Kyogre used to live, before it battled Groudon a second time."

"Wow, really…?" JJ asked in shock and awe. The steel-haired champion nodded.

"Yes indeed. Just like Groudon used to live in Mt. Chimney, Kyogre lived here. I'm showing you this to give you some history, seeing as you've found yourselves involved in whatever Team Aqua and Magma are up to."

"We definitely have a history with them now," Brittany muttered, thinking back to when they had taken her.

"I believe it, considering Courtney and Niko were on a first-name basis at that point. Anyways, just thought I'd show you the cave. We can head back now, if you'd like."

The four trainers nodded, some worried for their pokémon, who were all still sitting on the boat in the middle of an expansive ocean, and some were just tired from all of the swimming. The five trainers jumped back into the water, placed their pokésnorkels on, and swam off, back to the surface.

As they approached the surface—about 50 feet from it—Jake's snorkel snapped all of the sudden. Mudkip was the first to notice, and swam up to Steven to tell him. Once the ex-champion turned around, so did Niko, Brittany, and JJ. Niko instinctively began swimming back for his brother, who was trying to pry the snorkel off of his face, but Steven beat him to it, assisting the young boy by methodically peeling the snorkel off and then taking his hand and guiding him back to the surface, immediately calling for metagross.

"Steven!" Niko called out. "Is he going to be alright?"

"Yeah, he'll be fine," Steven said before getting on metagross and floating with Jake back to the boat. In turn, everyone got back to the boat, but Niko immediately rushed to Steven and Jake, the former of which was helping the latter breath again. Moments later, Jake seemed alright, much to Niko's joy.

"Thank god you're alright buddy," Niko said, embracing his younger brother. "Mom and Dad would kill me if anything happened to you."

"Yeah, they would," Jake said with a wry smile. "Thanks, Steven!"

"No problem, Jake. I should actually be apologizing for the failure of your snorkel. I'll have the team that developed it check it out when I get back to Rustboro. Niko, I'm really sorry that happened."

"It's alright, Steven. I'm just glad Jake's alright, that's all," Niko said, looking pleasantly satisfied, albeit still a little worried.

"I hope other people aren't having that same problem," Brittany added. "So, did it like break or something?"

Steven eyed the pokésnorkel again with a curious look. "Yeah, something in the actual snorkel snapped, which seems to have cut off the part that allows the person to breathe. That's actually a serious problem. Guess I have some calls to make when we get to Sootopolis," Steven said with a look of disappointment. "Anyways, let's get back to our journey, yeah? There's some towels in my little storage compartment. You can each take one to dry yourselves off with."

The group nodded, each picking out a towel and drying off while the pokémon talked amongst themselves. The others were interested in hearing what mudkip and marill had to say about it. Once everyone was settled in, Steven started up the boat again, and they were off in a western direction to Sootopolis City, where they arrived around dusk.

The entrance to Sootopolis City was a large gate surrounded by two pokémon that looked like Groudon and Kyogre.

"Sootopolis City is known as 'the mystical city where history slumbers,'" Steven began to explain. "It's home to the Cave of Origin, where it is said that life began. It's also said that this is the birthplace of Groudon and Kyogre, obviously," He continued, laughing quietly. "That explains the statues, if you were curious. But this whole city actually used to be a volcano. Yup, you heard me—the city rests inside the crater of an extinct volcano. Fascinating, isn't it?"

"Yeah, that's actually really cool," Niko said as he watched the two statues pass by. Steven waved to one of the security guards at the gate, presumably one he knew quite well, and passed into the harbor of the city. After docking the boat, he led the group to the Pokémon Center.

"Well, this is where I'll leave you. Niko, best of luck against Juan. I know you'll be able to beat him. Trust me, if I was able to do it, I think you can, too."

"But…you're a former champion…" Niko said, looking bemused.

"You're a very capable trainer. I hope one day you'll realize how capable you actually are. Anyways, I hope to see you at the Hoenn League on Ever Grande Island. It's in a month and a half, if I recall correctly."

"Thanks Steven. For, well, everything," Niko said, feeling far more appreciative than he looked in that moment.

"Anytime, Niko. That's what a champion does—they help out trainers in need. Well, actually, you don't even need to be a champion to do that. You just have to be a decent human being."

Steven then waved his hand as he exited the Pokémon Center, leaving Niko and his friends to head to sleep and tour the city the following day.


	44. City in a crater

**Episode 44: City in a crater**

Niko woke up as he normally did, with half-opened eyes and a few sleeping pokémon surrounding him. The journey from Mossdeep was more exhausting than he had realized. He looked around and noticed that he was the only one awake. Maneuvering around the pokémon sleeping on and around his bed, Niko got up, got dressed, and walked outside the Pokémon Center to get some fresh air.

He did not expect Sootopolis City to be as beautiful as it was. Even though it rests in an extinct volcano, it had a fresh, natural feel to it. The walls of the crater surrounding the city were a light gray color that, somehow, seemed to match nicely with the houses running along most of the wall. The only part not covered with civilization was near the gate to the city, where the crater wall was most visible. Niko looked around before walking down the street to the waterfront. Taking off his shoes, he dipped his feet into the water and just watched boats and ships rolling in and out of the gate. He did this for a while before remembering why he was here, and an hour later got up and walked back to the Pokémon Center, where his friends were eagerly awaiting him.

"Morning, Niko!" Brittany said cheerfully from a booth. "How're you feeling?"

"Not as tired as I was earlier, actually," Niko replied as he sat down. "Figured I'd go outside to get some fresh air. You guys need to see more of this city, it's incredible," He continued with awe in his voice. "I felt refreshing to just go down to the waterfront and watch boats come in and out of the gate."

"I can imagine," Brittany replied before she tore into a waffle. "I think JJ, Jake, and I are going to go tour the city for a bit if you want to join us."

"Thanks for the offer, but I think I need to get some training in first."

"Nervous for your battle with Juan?" Jake asked.

"A little," Niko replied. "The last gym leader is always the toughest. JJ and Brittany remember when I battled Giovanni and Clair."

The other two trainers nodded. "Yeah, Niko had a lot of difficulty with Clair. But that's also because he didn't exactly have pokémon to beat her team. Juan uses water types, you should be fine if you don't use numel."

"Which means I have to use snorunt, who has never battled with me," Niko added. "I need to train the little guy and make sure it's ready, you know?" JJ and Brittany both nodded, clearly understanding what Niko was trying to say. Last time they got this far in their journey, Niko had just caught a delibird. And while the delivery pokémon was more than excited to finally battle, it hadn't had any battling experience prior to its fight with Clair.

Eventually, Niko got up and walked back to his room to get his pokémon, who were all in their pokéballs, courtesy of JJ and Jake. He grabbed them and went to the battlefield behind the center and began his training.

"Alright guys," Niko said as he addressed his full team. "We're about to try and get our eighth and final badge in Hoenn. The gym leader is Juan, and he uses water types. Numel, I'll only want you to battle if you absolutely have to, got it?" The numb pokémon, indifferent as ever, simply nodded. "So that means I'll be relying on grovyle and manectric to help me out a lot. But we have to be careful, since according to Steven, Juan might have some tricks up his sleeve. But I know we can do it!

"It also means that you'll be battling for the first time, snorunt!" Niko said, smiling as he looked down at the snow hat pokémon. "I know you're not the biggest fan of water bud, but we'll get through it. I'm gonna help train you in particular today, to make sure you're battle ready. Got it?"

"Sno!" The ice type pokémon said loudly. "Sno sno!"

"I'll take that as an affirmative. Alright, let's get started then! Grovyle, swellow, I want you to start by working on your speed like usual. I think some laps around the battlefield will do. Lairon, let's work on getting your iron tail to release faster, sound good?" The iron armor pokémon nodded, immediately getting started, while it took slightly longer for grovyle and swellow to wake up and begin their training. "Manectric, you're pretty fast already, so I have something else for you to work on. We're gonna try teaching you thunder. It's kind of a difficult move to learn, since it requires so much electricity to use, but give it a shot. I definitely don't expect you to master it today, but try it out and see how you do, alright?" Manectric nodded before running a couple laps as a warm up with its other teammates.

"Numel…" Niko said with a sigh. "I know you might not be battling, but could you at least show _some_ effort today?" Numel simply looked up at its trainer before falling back asleep. Niko sighed again before turning to snorunt. "Alright buddy, let's get started. So, I checked out moves that you can learn in my pokédex, and it says that you could learn icy wind, headbutt, crunch, and double team. Does that sound familiar to you at all?"

Snorunt nodded eagerly.

"Got it, then. So, let's first have you use icy wind in that direction!" Niko said, pointing away from the center and towards a bench. Snorunt nodded before opening its mouth and spraying a cold gust of air, nearly hitting manectric, who almost retaliated with spark before realizing where the wind came from. "Err…guess we need to be more aware, too, eheh…" Niko said, rubbing his head nervously. "Alright, let's try double team, now."

Snorunt then multiplied itself several times, showing a mastery of the move Niko has always found difficulty teaching.

"Wow! That's really good, snorunt!" Niko said, praising the little ice type. "It's taken my pokémon a long time to learn that move, usually. That's actually really impressive, well done! Now, wanna try headbutting that wall over there?" Niko said, referencing the dividing wall between the Pokémon Center and the rest of Sootopolis City. Snorunt nodded a third time before running off towards the wall. It leapt into the air when it was roughly a foot away and crashed the point on its head into the wall, leaving a rather large series of cracks in it, all originating from the point of impact. "Again, that's pretty impressive. Now, snorunt, I trust that you can use crunch already, so I want to try and teach you another move. It's called protect, and I think it is basically just a protective sphere that you generate around yourself. Know what I mean?"

"Sno?" Snorunt said curiously, trying to understand its trainer.

"I have no idea how to show you, so while I figure it out, why don't you continue practicing icy wind. And this time, trying focusing it on a certain point. We don't want to get anyone else hit if we have to do a double battle or something, alright?" Snorunt nodded, and turned back to the wall to continue practicing.

* * *

Meanwhile Brittany, Jake, and JJ spent their time walking around Sootopolis City. They first went to the waterfront as Niko suggested. After spending some time there, they walked around the edge of the city for a bit before stopping to rest in a park a couple blocks away.

"Niko was right," Brittany said as she looked up at the crater walls, "This place is incredible."

"He definitely got that right…" JJ said, marill sitting in his arms. "I wonder how his training is going."

"Probably pretty good, since he's got the center to himself. At least, that's how it looked when we left it," Brittany replied. Pichu then began squirming in her arms. Eventually, after some resistance from its trainer, the tiny mouse pokémon leapt out off of Brittany and ran over to a battle going on in the park. "What's up, pichu?" Brittany asked. Then she noticed a familiar looking pokémon.

It was a pikachu battling a volbeat. But it was the pikachu's trainer that really caught their eye. The owner was a young, black-haired woman with thin-rimmed glasses, yelling out commands for the mouse pokémon. The second thing that caught their attention was the move used by the electric pokémon.

"Pikachu, volt tackle!" The trainer they recognized as Melinda commanded. The electric mouse surged forward, its body lighting up with yellow electricity, completely covering the outside of the pokémon. It then slammed into the volbeat with remarkable speed, and defeating it. "Nice work! We just need to minimize the damage you take, but that was good work, pikachu!" Melinda said, crouching down to pick up her electric mouse. "Hey, kid, good battle, though! That volbeat is strong for a bug type!"

"Thanks miss, I'm gonna keep training so I can beat Juan!" The young boy said, returning his volbeat.

"I'm sure you will. Good luck!" Melinda then turned to see three of the four group members watching her. "Oh, why hello there!" She said with fascination. "Here for Niko's gym battle, right?"

"Yeah, as a matter of fact," JJ replied. "He's off training at the Pokémon Center. What are you up to?"

"Just hanging around the town. I just beat the gym leader a couple days ago. The Ever Grande Conference isn't for a while, so I figured just sticking around here and training would be just fine with me. Also, this place is beautiful!"

"You got that right," Brittany replied. "Say, the reason we found you is because my pichu seemed really interested in your pikachu."

"Oh?" Melinda asked with a suggestive smile.

"N-no, not like that. I mean, that move you used…volt tackle…?"

"Oh, that! Yeah, it's a move my pikachu just managed to learn. It's hard as hell to master, but it's pretty powerful. On the flip side, though, pikachu takes damage from it."

"Got it. Think maybe you could teach me? It might help with my contests," Brittany asked.

"Of course! Pikachu, what do you say we help out Brittany and her pichu?" Melinda asked. The pikachu nodded cheerfully. "Wanna grab some lunch first and then we can practice at the Pokémon Center?"

"Sure, works for me!" Brittany said, looking to JJ and Jake for concurrence. Both seemed to nod and the four were off.

"Would Niko be interested in joining us?" Melinda asked.

"I don't know. He's kinda far from here, and he's probably too busy training. He should be fine, though."

"Oh, alright then," Melinda said, a very subtle look of disappointment on her face. The group eventually reached a restaurant on the water and found seats relatively quickly. As soon as they sat down and ordered, conversation began between them, mostly catching up on each other's journeys. "So, you and JJ are doing contests, right?" The two trainers nodded. "And how's that going?"

"Pretty good, actually," Brittany answered. "I just need one more ribbon before I can compete in the Grand Festival, which is in Slateport City I heard."

"That's correct. But don't they require five ribbons to enter? At least, that's what my sister had to do."

"It used to be, but it was a recent change, I think. And I didn't know you had a sister," Brittany said, seemingly more engaged. They hardly knew anything about Melinda, her past, or her family. So this was bigger news to her, Jake, and JJ than it would be normally.

"Oh, yeah. She's off in another land right now, though. She does contests regularly. And she's very good. She was a runner-up in Hoenn's Grand Festival and won Johto's."

"I didn't know Johto had them!" Brittany exclaimed. "That's where we were before coming to Hoenn!"

"Yeah, I think they're in every region, but the contests vary between them. I mean, the rules of them do," Melinda explained. "I'm not sure on the specifics, though."

"Have you ever watched your sister perform in one?"

"Of course. It's just been a while, though. I don't see her much anymore," Melinda said as her food showed up. "Anyways, changing subject. How's Niko?"

"He's been great!" Brittany said. "He just beat Tate and Liza in Mossdeep City, which is incredible, since he was training forever for that one. He isn't exactly the best at double battling."

Brittany, JJ, and Jake then went into detail about how Niko managed to beat the mystic twins. Melinda seemed in awe at how her rival pulled off the win. They then continued sharing stories of their adventures, such as meeting Phoebe, their excursion into the Shoal Cave, and the deep-sea diving with Steven. Melinda seemed to be most interested in the diving, and wanted to know more about it.

After their lunch, the four walked back to the Pokémon Center, where Niko was sitting down for a lunch break with his team. Noticing Melinda, he shot right up, blushing slightly.

"Melinda! How-how're you?" Niko asked, walking up to shake his rival's hand. Instead, the black-haired trainer brought him into a friendly hug, which he certainly didn't expect.

"I'm doing fine, Niko! I heard you're challenging Juan soon, is that right?"

"Yeah, probably tomorrow actually," Niko said, trying to stop his face from blushing.

"Well, good luck! I think I'll come and watch, if that's alright with you."

"Of course it is! Wait…have you beaten him?"

"Yup! Did it a couple days ago. He's tough, that's for sure. But it looks like you'll do fine. Are these your pokémon?" Niko nodded. "That snorunt is so cute!" Melinda said. "Right, pikachu?" The electric mouse hopped onto the ground and tried to touch snorunt, who took a step back before also reaching forward and touching pikachu's paw with its own spherical hand.

"Snorunt's new to the team, so it's still a little nervous around new people, I think," Niko said. "So, you've gotten all of your badges now?"

"Yeah! Just training for the Ever Grande Conference in a month or so. Figured it'd just be best to stay here until then since its relatively close, y'know?"

"Yeah, I getcha. Anyways, would you like to battle?"

"Maybe later. Brittany wants me to help her pichu learn volt tackle, and I kind of said I would help. Sorry…"

"Oh, no worries! We can always battle later!" Niko said, turning back to his team. "You guys up for some more training?" The pokémon all nodded or cheered before Niko began giving them moves to practice. Manectric seemed like it was getting closer to understanding the amount of electricity it needed to master thunder, and snorunt was beginning to learn protect. Meanwhile, swellow, grovyle, and lairon were getting better with their own moves.

Niko made some room on the battlefield so Brittany and Melinda could practice volt tackle. At first pichu was having some difficulty with it, but after a couple of hours it began to get the hang of it. However, it was incredibly tired after, as was pikachu, and so Melinda and Niko did a raincheck on their battle until after Niko challenged Juan for his last badge.

After the group had some dinner with Melinda, the latter departed for the place she was staying at, which was on the other side of the city.

"Hey, Melinda," Niko asked.

"What's up, Niko?"

"Uh, err, need someone to walk you home?" He asked quietly.

"I think I'll be fine, but thanks for the offer!" She said, smiling joyfully. "See ya at the gym tomorrow!"

"Right, see you at the gym tomorrow," Niko said before turning back to his friends with a look of embarrassment. None of them said anything out of fear of further embarrassing Niko, and instead walked back to their room and talked for a bit about other things before heading off to bed.


	45. Eight to complete!

**Episode 45: Eight to complete!**

Oddly enough, Niko felt fine about his final gym battle in Hoenn. It was going to be, without a doubt, his most difficult, as they usually were, but he felt alright. It also helped that, like always, his friends would be there as positive reinforcement.

He started his day like usual, with getting up, opening the blinds of their room in the Pokémon Center, getting dressed and feeding his pokémon, and then going to get some food for himself with his friends and brother.

"So, how far is the gym from here?" Niko asked.

"Not far, actually. It's in the center of the city, in the middle of a massive pond by the looks of it," JJ said as he looked closely at his pokénav. "Yup, that's the gym alright." Niko nodded as he quickly finished his breakfast and got up to begin walking to the gym.

"Niko?" Brittany asked curiously as she wasn't done eating. "Wanna wait for us, too?"

Niko stopped and turned around in a flash. "Oh, yeah, sorry about that…" He said, nervously scratching the back of his head before sitting back down. Minutes later the group had finished and was ready to start off for the gym. They made their way through the city and to the lake that JJ had mentioned. In the middle of it stood a rather large blue glass building that was supposedly the Sootopolis City Gym. "How do we get over there?" Niko asked curiously.

Brittany tapped his shoulder and pointed to the small ferry ride to their right. "I think that's it," She said with a grin. Niko shook his head and proceeded to lead the group over to the ferry. They got on for free and were at the gym minutes later, where Melinda was standing outside waiting for it.

"Hey Niko!" She shouted, waving her hand to her rival. Niko nodded and smiled while waving his own hand.

"Hi Melinda. Thanks for coming. Hopefully I won't disappoint you," He said as the black-haired woman pulled him into an embrace.

"You're going to kick ass, Niko. I just know you will!" She exclaimed. "Anyways, you first," She said as she opened the door to lead the group into the gym. Like the city it represented, the gym was beautiful. There were fountains spouting crystal-clear water, glass chandeliers hanging on the ceiling, and pokémon swimming around in pools on the sides of the gym.

"Wow…" Brittany said, amazed at how elegant a pokémon gym could be. "I had no idea a gym could be this beautiful."

"It's much like the water type, my dear," A man with a rather husky voice said from atop a set of blue steps. "Beautiful, but powerful. Elegant, but strong. Pokémon gyms are meant to resonate an aura of power and strength."

He was an older looking man with streaks of gray hair on both sides of his head. He wore a blue coat with the collar popped upwards and a white ruff with a blue gem that tied it up at the neck. Overall, he looked rather regal.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Juan, the former and current gym leader of Sootopolis City. And…you all are?"

"My name is Niko. I'm from Pallet Town, and I am here to challenge you to a match!"

"Ah, I'd be honored. Oh, I see Melinda is back. How are you, dear?"

"Just fine Juan, thanks for asking!" Melinda said joyfully.

"Good to hear. Niko, I must say, your girlfriend is quite the trainer," He said with a wink, causing Niko to blush and Melinda to glow red with embarrassment.

"We aren't a couple!" They both retorted.

"Oh, my apologies then. I should really stop making assumptions like that. Anyways, Niko, please follow me. Melinda, could you show his friends to the stands?" Melinda nodded and walked with Brittany, JJ, and Jake to their right, leading them to a set of stairs that took them to the battlefield while Niko and Juan walked. "Niko, am I allowed to assume that you've gotten seven badges already?"

"You can. I have," Niko replied honestly.

"Good, good. I usually like to be the last gym leader trainers face before they head to the Ever Grande Conference. So, generally speaking, I have my highest volume of challengers around this time of year. I only ask that because I like to tailor my gym battles to act as a test. A test to see if you are truly ready to compete at Ever Grande. And, well, I must say I've had some success. The current champion—Wallace—was once my protégé. I taught him everything there is to know about water type pokémon and battling more generally.

"And so, this gym battle will be divided into two parts. The first, a double battle against two of my pokémon. The second, a 3-on-3 match against my remaining three. Sound good to you?"

"Fine by me. I can handle whatever you bring forward for me," Niko said.

"Very well. I can assure you, though, that I will not be an easy win, no matter how many pokémon might have the advantage. I'm an old man, Niko, and I have decades of battling experience under my belt. Keep that in mind," Juan explained before they arrived at the gym, which was essentially a large swimming pool with small circular platforms. Juan walked to the other end of the battlefield and then turned back to Niko. "My butler, Sebastian, will act as judge. As I have already said, the first round of this battle will be a double battle. Whenever you're ready."

Niko withdrew two pokéballs from his pocket and tossed them onto the platforms in front of him. "Grovyle, manectric, I choose you!"

Juan chuckled. "As I expected—a grass and electric type. Very well. Whiscash, sealeo, I choose you!"

Jake, in the stands with his friends, pulled out his pokédex to analyze the two unfamiliar pokémon:

" _Whiscash, the whiskers pokémon. Water and ground type. Mysteriously, it can foretell earthquakes. In the daytime, it sleeps in mud at the bottom of a pond. When it awakens, it continually feeds throughout the night_."

" _Sealeo, the ball roll pokémon. Ice and water type. Sealeo live in herds on ice floes. Using its powerful flippers, it shatters ice. It dives into the sea to hunt prey five times a day_."

"Niko has a massive advantage here!" JJ exclaimed.

"You think that right now," Melinda replied, "but I did the same thing, and I nearly lost."

"Grovyle, leaf blade on whiscash, manectric use shock wave on sealeo!"

"Dive into the water, both of you!" Juan commanded. "Sealeo, aurora beam on grovyle! Whiscash, water pulse on manectric!"

As grovyle leapt from platform to platform, sealeo began shooting rainbow-color beams of energy at it. Luckily, grovyle managed to dodge each one and slammed its leaf blades onto whiscash's head before it managed to launch its water pulse. Manectric's shock wave also managed to hit sealeo directly in the face, knocking it back into the water. Niko looked up to observe Juan's general demeanor, and noticed that he hardly seemed fazed.

"Whiscash, earthquake! Sealeo, aurora beam on grovyle!"

Suddenly the water began to ebb and flow violently around in the pool, causing the platforms to shake and for manectric to fall into the water. Grovyle managed to leap into the air and land on sealeo, its leaf blade slamming into the back of the seal pokemon's head.

"Manectric, use spark!" Niko shouted. The discharge pokémon, now in the water, released an electric charge, zapping both grovyle and sealeo, causing the latter to faint, and leaving whiscash unharmed.

"Sealeo is unable to battle, grovyle and manectric win!" Sebastian declared.

"I see, Niko. Wise choice using my own move to your advantage. Simple tactic, but it obviously worked. Well done. Whiscash, use water pulse on grovyle!"

"Manectric, swim through the water to intercept! Grovyle, bullet seed!" Niko commanded. Surprisingly, manectric was fast in the water as well, but it didn't make it to its teammate in time. However, grovyle managed to stalemate the water pulse with its own bullet seed, allowing manectric to jump in at the last minute and take the water attack, making room for grovyle. "Good job you two, let's keep it up! Grovyle, continue with bullet seed! Manectric, use howl and then quick attack!"

"Whiscash, use earthquake!" Juan commanded. The whiskers pokémon began shaking the pool once more, which made Niko briefly appreciate the structural integrity of the water-themed battlefield. Manectric leapt across platforms during the earthquake, trying to close the gap between it and whiscash while grovyle attempted to pelt it with bullet seeds, which turned out to be effective, as manectric was able to deal the final blow to the ground type pokémon with quick attack.

"Whiscash is unable to battle, grovyle and manectric win! The victor of the first round is Niko!" Sebastian stated, raising a flag in Niko's direction.

"Great job, guys!" Niko said in praise, "But I'm gonna let you both rest for now. You'll need it," He said before pulling out a third pokémon.

"Very well done, Niko. Double battles are difficult. I can tell you've been practicing."

"More than you know," Niko said, smirking.

"I believe it. Now, I have three pokémon left. Can you beat them with your five remaining?" Juan pulled out a pokéball of his own. "Luvdisc, I choose you!"

Once again, Jake pulled out his pokédex:

" _Luvdisc, the rendezvous pokémon. Water type. Luvdisc makes the branches of corsola their nests. There is a custom from long ago of giving a Luvdisc as a gift to express one's feeling of love_."

"I wonder if Maizie would like a luvdisc…" JJ quipped.

 _I wonder if Melinda would like a luvdisc…_ Niko thought before aggressively shaking his head. "Err…snorunt, let's go!" He shouted, summoning the snow hat pokémon onto a platform. Once it realized it was surrounded by water, snorunt began to shake in fear. "You can do it, buddy. I believe in you. Now, icy wind!"

"Luvdisc, use water pulse!" Juan commanded. The water pulse burst through the cold gust of air and slammed into snorunt, nearly knocking it off of its platform. Upon contact with the snowhat pokémon it exploded, leaving snorunt damp as well.

"SNO SNO SNO SNO SNOOOOO!" Snorunt shouted as it ran in circles around the platform.

"Snorunt, calm down!" Niko said, looking concerned. "You have to face your fears! That's the only way you'll get stronger!" Despite pleas from its trainer, the snorunt seemed distraught, and decided to drop down on the platform, trying to indicate that it had given up. Niko sighed. "Alright, fine then. Snorunt, return…"

"Snorunt is unable to battle?" Sebastian asked, clearly as confused as everyone else on the field. Niko nodded slowly without looking at the judge. "Alright. Snorunt is unable to battle, luvdisc wins! Niko will now send out his next pokémon!"

"Swellow, let's go!" Niko shouted, summoning his flying type. "Let's start off with aerial ace!"

"Luvdisc, water pulse!" Juan commanded, knowing fully well that the attack was going to hit all the same. The two pokémon collided, but the water pulse had done its damage by weighing down swellow and causing it to fall into the pool. "Now, follow up with flail!"

The rendezvous pokémon repeatedly slammed into the swallow pokémon, knocking it around as it tried to come back up for air. Panicked, Niko then commanded swellow to use double team, which managed to confuse luvdisc long enough for it to escape.

"Great job, swellow! Now, use aerial ace again!"

"Luvdisc, it's coming from the sky behind you! Use sweet kiss!" Juan commanded. Once again, the attack hit the pokémon in the water, causing swellow to fall back in. "Niko, if you don't learn from your mistakes, you will not go far in the Ever Grande Conference. Luvdisc, use water pulse now!"

The heart-shaped pokémon sent a powerful ball of water at swellow, who was not only struggling underwater, but also confused. Niko attempted to command it to use double team, but swellow kept hitting itself, all while struggling to breath. Then, Niko got an idea.

"Swellow, aerial ace!" He commanded. The swallow pokémon rushed forward, clearly confused as to why it was, and hit luvdisc square in the face and with enough force to send it hurtling to the other end of the pool. Swellow then made it to the surface, albeit still confused. It collapsed onto the platform, exhausted. "Swellow, return," Niko said, choosing to substitute the confused swallow pokémon. "Grovyle, let's go!"

"Ah, grovyle. Luvdisc, use water pulse!"

"Grovyle, break the water pulse with leaf blade and follow up with bullet seed!" Niko commanded. The wood gecko pokémon nodded before jumping to a closer platform and, with its arm blades glowing bright green, burst the water pulse, which still dampened the grass type. Grovyle then fired out several rounds of bright green seeds at luvdisc, who tried to block the attack with a water pulse, but the seeds were too overwhelming, and it collapsed in exhaustion.

"Luvdisc is unable to battle, grovyle wins! Juan will now send out his fourth pokémon!" Sebastian declared.

"Crawdaunt, I choose you!" Juan commanded. Just as quickly, Jake pulled out his pokédex again:

" _Crawdaunt, the rogue pokémon. Water and dark type. A brutish pokémon that loves to battle. A veteran Crawdaunt that has prevailed in hundreds of battles has giant pincers marked with countless scars_."

"Grovyle, use leaf blade!" Niko shouted.

"Crawdaunt, counter with crabhammer!" Juan shouted out. The two pokémon collided, with crawdaunt's left claw glowing a light blue color and grovyle's arm leaf glowing a bright green color. The force of the collision repelled both pokémon back, with the wood gecko pokémon feeling far more exhausted, as it has already battled three of Juan's other pokémon. "Use water pulse!"

"Grovyle, block it with bullet seed and follow up with leaf blade!" Niko shouted out. The grass type repelled the pulsating ball of glowing water before it rushed forward and charged at crawdaunt with its glowing green arm-blades.

"Use crabhammer!" Juan commanded, forcing another stalemate. However, while the two pokémon were locked, the crawfish pokémon still had another claw. "Now, guillotine!"

Crawdaunt's other claw glowed a bright white color and slammed into grovyle's stomach, launching the wood gecko pokémon into the air. It was defeated before it crashed onto the ground next to Niko.

"Grovyle is unable to battle, crawdaunt is the winner!" Sebastian declared.

"Swellow, let's go!" Niko commanded. "Aerial ace!"

"Crabhammer!" Juan commanded for a third time. And, again, the attacks collided, but this time swellow managed to gain the upper hand, and crashed into crawdaunt's torso, causing the rogue pokémon to reel back a bit in pain. "Water pulse now!"

"Swellow, don't give in! Use wing attack!" Niko shouted. The swallow pokémon evaded the water pulse and slammed into the crawfish pokemon's torso, nearly knocking it off of its platform. "Now, double team and quick attack!"

"Crawdaunt, fire off multiple water pulses!" Juan commanded. The rogue pokémon opened up both of its claws and launched out a series of pulsating balls of water at the numerous swellow's that appeared and began to divebomb it. A few made it to crawdaunt and hit it from as many sides as possible, but the rogue pokémon was still standing. "Use crabhammer!" Juan commanded when he noticed only one swellow remained. Crawdaunt's claw glowed a bright blue when it slammed it down on swellow, only to miss, since the swallow pokémon was back in the air.

"Finish it off with aerial ace!" Niko commanded. Swellow obliged, doing a somersault backwards in the air before divebombing crawdaunt once more, its beak glowing. It hit the rogue pokémon in the face, knocking it off of its platform and out of the battle.

"Crawdaunt is unable to battle, swellow is the winner! Juan will now send out his final pokémon!"

"Wow, Niko's doing really well!" Melinda observed, albeit also deep in thought.

"Yeah, he's really been trying to focus on speed, with the exception of lairon and numel," JJ replied. "But Juan still has one pokémon left, and it's probably his most powerful one, so Niko shouldn't get too comfortable.

"That's very true, knowing what it is," Melinda commented as Juan pulled out his final pokéball.

"Milotic, center stage!" Juan shouted, summoning the tender pokémon. "Hydro pump!"

"Swellow, aerial ace!" Niko commanded, throwing out a hand as a gesture. The now exhausted swellow dove back down for another aerial ace, only to collide with the powerful gush of water emitting from milotic's tail. Both attacks managed to hit, but it seemed only one was able to survive.

"Swellow is unable to battle, milotic wins! Niko will now send out his next pokémon!" Sebastian declared.

"Swellow, return. Great job, buddy," Niko said, pulling out his next choice. "Well, let's see what you can do. Lairon, I choose you!" He shouted, summoning the iron armor pokémon onto the platform. "Use harden!"

"Milotic, twister," Juan commanded. The tender pokémon spun the end of its tail to create a swirling gust of wind that sent lairon off of its platform and into the water.

"Lairon!" Niko shouted, unsure if the iron armor pokémon could actually swim. Turns out, the steel type could, but it wasn't very fast. "Oh, thank god…alright lairon, use iron tail!"

"Milotic, hydro pump!" Juan commanded. Milotic once more conjured a powerful burst of water from its tail that hit lairon square in the face, knocking it backwards into the water. It then floated back up to the surface, defeated.

"Lairon is unable to battle, milotic wins!" Sebastian commanded. "Both trainers are now down to their final pokémon!"

"Manectric, let's go!" Niko commanded. "Use shock wave!"

"Milotic, recover," Juan said plainly. The tender pokémon began to glow a bright white color and healed itself before getting hit with the inevitable shock wave. "Now, hydro pump!"

"Manectric, run into the hydro pump!" Niko commanded without alluding to what his strategy was. The discharge pokémon obliged, colliding with the burst of water. "Now, use spark!" The electric type's fur began to stand on end as it released electricity into the water, creating an explosion and blocking the attack. "Now, quick attack and spark!"

"Milotic, twister!" Juan commanded.

"Fight through the twister, manectric! You can do it!" Niko commanded. Manectric pushed through the gust of wind, using the electricity still stored in its fur to propel it forward. It ultimately hit milotic and unleashed the spark, but the attack hardly seemed to do anything.

"Milotic, use iron tail!" Juan shouted. The tender pokemon's tail began to glow a bright white as it smacked manectric into the water. However, the discharge pokémon grabbed onto milotic and used to the force of the iron tail to pull milotic down with it. "Oh, not this again. Milotic, twister!"

"Manectric, shock wave!" Niko commanded. Both attacks hit as manectric was flung back out of the water and milotic was hit with the shock wave under the water. Manectric crashed onto one of the platforms floating on the water, and found it difficult to stand back up. "C'mon buddy, you can do this. I believe in you, manectric…"

Milotic then got back out of the water, albeit with difficulty. Juan then commanded it to recover. While it did this, Niko ordered manectric to use another quick attack and spark, which seemed to be effective enough, since it halted milotic's rather slow recovery.

"Finish it off with shock wave!" Niko commanded.

"Milotic, use twister!" Juan shouted, in an attempt to bring the discharge pokémon down with it. However, manectric dodged the twister before using its attack by jumping across each platform and then summoning a wave of blue lightning that electrified milotic, causing it to fall backwards off of the platform it was on and into the water.

"Milotic is unable to battle, manectric wins! The victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!" Sebastian declared.

"Niko did it!" Melinda shouted alongside cheers from Jake and Brittany.

"Manectric, we did it!" Niko said as the discharge pokémon ran back to its trainer. "Great job, buddy. I'm really proud of you!" The two embraced for a moment before Juan made it around the edge of the pool and walked up to Niko. By this time, the others were also standing beside their gym challenger.

"Niko, that was quite the battle there," Juan said, smiling warmly. "You have certainly proven yourself worthy of challenging the Ever Grande Conference. So, here, as proof of your victory today, I award you with the rain badge."

He pulled out a badge with three raindrops arranged in the shape of a triangle. One of the drops was a darker color than the other two. Niko took the badge and showed it to manectric, who simply smiled and nodded at its trainer.

"Thanks, Juan. I appreciated the battle."

"It was my pleasure, Niko. I love doing this. And best of luck at Ever Grande. I'll be watching both you and Melinda, and I would like to see both of you go far."

Niko turned to his rival and smirked. "Well, only one of us is going all the way there."

"Yup. Me!" Melinda replied cheerfully.

"Sure, if it makes you feel better to think that," Niko retorted, eliciting a laugh from the others.

* * *

Now with all eight gym badges, Niko, his friends, and his rival all went out to lunch to celebrate. Then they spent the rest of the day relaxing in the park that Brittany met Melinda the previous day. Most of their time was spent hanging out with their pokémon and talking. Melinda also continued to teach pichu and Brittany how to use volt tackle while Niko and JJ simply watched. Jake, on the other hand, spent some time training his own pokémon, as he occasionally did.

Later that evening, after having dinner, Niko decided to take a walk down to the waterfront. He was told that the nighttime sky in Sootopolis was nice, and he decided to check it out for himself. True to word, he could see not only the crater walls dimly lit along the edge, but also see stars littered across the sky.

"Hey Niko," A familiar voice said as Melinda sat down next to him, "Watcha up to?"

"Just looking at the sky, actually. I heard its really nice at night."

"You've got that right," She replied, looking up. "Good battle, by the way."

"Thanks," Niko responded with a smile, but unsure of what else to say. After a minute of awkward silence, he finally responded again. "Err, sorry. I'm bad at small talk."

"I've noticed," Melinda chuckled. "I'm not."

"Guess opposites attract, then?" Niko suggested, but only got a look of surprise from his black-haired friend.

"Well, not really," Melinda said bluntly. "I, uh, don't know how to put this…"

"Just say it, then," Niko replied, thinking that he knew what she was going to say, but didn't want her to say it.

"I do not like you. I mean, like _that_ ," She admitted. "I know you do, and that's nice of you, but I definitely don't feel the same. I mean, we hardly know each other!"

"Yeah, guess you're right. Sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?"

"Because I got my feelings wrong. That sounds stupid, but I don't quite know how to describe it…" Niko said, looking down at the water, frowning in a mixture of sadness and anger.

"Your feelings are perfectly legitimate Niko, never doubt that. I just don't reciprocate them. Doesn't make them wrong," Melinda said calmly, placing a hand on his shoulder. He tried to shove her away, but stopped halfway. "Listen, we've still got a long way to go before our relationship develops to a place where I could legitimately feel the same way. But you've got to know that that might not happen. I still like you as a friend. I think you're a great person, and an excellent trainer. You care so much about your friends, your brother, and your pokémon, more than I can say about myself and my past. I just don't have feelings of romance around you."

"I get it," Niko said bluntly, with a hint of frustration.

"I know you do. Anyways, I've gotta get going. If I don't see you tomorrow morning, I will see you at Ever Grande. Best of luck preparing."

"Thanks, you too," Niko said, refusing to look at his rival got up, put her shoes back on, and walked off. Niko chose to sit there for a little while longer before getting up himself and heading off to the Pokémon Center.


	46. The ship captain

**Episode 46: The ship captain**

Niko woke up the next morning staring directly at his ceiling. It took him a while to fall asleep the night before, and therefore he didn't get much rest. Melinda's true feelings for him left him feeling empty. Oddly enough, he had been rejected a few times in his youth, but those were fleeting crushes. What he felt for Melinda had more depth, albeit not much more, given that he still didn't know much about her.

He slowly got out of bed, returned his pokémon to their pokéballs, and walked outside of the Pokémon Center. He saw Brittany, JJ, and Jake standing there, apparently waiting for him.

"Mornin'!" Brittany said joyfully. "Sleep well?"

"Not really. We leaving now?" Niko asked, rubbing the back of his neck, which was apparently sore.

"Yeah, Melinda just stopped by to say good-bye to us, but she couldn't stay long. Wonder why…" JJ said, shrugging.

"Yeah, wonder why," Niko muttered before slinging his backpack over his other shoulder. "So, where are we going now?"

"Well, there's that contest in Pacifidlog Town that I wanted to compete in," Brittany said, "And then, if I win there, I can compete in the Grand Festival in Slateport. JJ already looked it up on the map and it isn't too far from Pacifidlog."

"Alright then. But how are we getting there?"

"Apparently there's a ship waiting for us," JJ said, much to Niko's surprise. "Yeah, I didn't expect it either. Don't know who helped us out, but it's down at the harbor waiting."

"What're we waiting for, then?" Niko asked, "Let's go!"

The group then jogged down to the Sootopolis Harbor, where an old ship was sitting around. It took Niko a moment to realize it was theirs, since it didn't look like it was up for any more sailing. However, a tall man with short brown hair combed to the right was waiting with "Niko" written on a piece of paper.

"Uh…I'm Niko," He said. "Is this our ship?"

"Yes! Hi, Niko, my name is Fitzwilliam. I'm the first mate of Drake's ship. Welcome aboard!"

"Oh, thanks. This is Brittany, JJ, and my brother, Jake. We just need a ride to Pacifidlog Town."

"No worries, we can get you there in a day or two. Just climb on aboard!" Fitzwilliam said, lowering down a long, thick plank of wood for the group to board the ship on. Once they boarded, they realized it looked oddly similar to a pirate's ship, but none of them felt it was right to mention this, as they feared—at least Brittany and Niko did—it might offend some of the crew members if they were wrong.

"Where are we?" Niko whispered into JJ's ear.

"I don't know. We just got a message this morning when we were eating that told us to be here early. Turns out, we made it on time," JJ whispered back as they approached the captain's quarters, led by Fitzwilliam.

"As we set off, I think it'd do to let you meet our Captain, Drake," He said, opening the door and allowing the group to walk in first. At the end of a wooden desk sat a shirtless, elderly man with a long black and yellow coat with a long, popped-out collar. He had a magnificently long gray mustache and a white and black captain's hat with a yellow pokéball on the front. Upon noticing the four young trainers standing in his doorway, he looked up, picking his feet off of the desk.

"Ah, Ftizwilliam, are these the kids we're transporting?"

"Yes, Captain. This is Niko, Brittany, JJ, and Jake," Fitzwilliam said, pointing his hand at each trainer in turn. "They just need a ride to Pacifidlog Town."

"Ah, I see. Pokémon Contest?"

"Yes, Captain, JJ and I will be competing," Brittany said, albeit a little nervous, as Drake looked to be a rather imposing man.

"Ah, I see. Well, I wish you the best of luck. I was never into Pokémon Contests, but I do see their appeal. You must be dedicated if you're going all the way to Pacifidlog Town."

"It's on the way to the Grand Festival, which I want to compete in should I win my next contest," Brittany explained. She was surprised at how interested Drake seemed, even though it wasn't his interest.

"I'm sure you'll do just fine. Now, what do the rest of you do, if I may ask? I like to know more about the people on my ship, for obvious reasons," Drake said, peering across his desk at the three males standing in front of him.

"Well, I also compete in Pokémon Contests, but I'm more interested in pokémon breeding," JJ finally responded. "I also enjoy travelling to new places."

"I admire that. You said your name was JJ? Well, JJ, sounds like you've got a lot of different interests. That's pleasant, for sure, but always having a singular goal in mind keeps you focused. As a breeder, though, it's helpful to try out other disciplines," He then turned to Jake and Niko.

"I'm just travelling with my brother and his friends," Jake said, "but one day I want to compete for gym badges like Niko has!"

Drake's interest seemed to pique now. "Ah. So Niko, you challenge gyms?" Niko nodded. "Interesting. How many in Hoenn do you have now?"

"I just earned my eighth one in Sootopolis City," Niko replied.

"So you've qualified for the Ever Grande Conference. Very nice. Battling is an interesting affair. It's about power, but also about emotional and mental intelligence. It requires us to use every tool we have at our disposal for the sole goal of winning. Unlike breeding, which borrows from other disciplines, or contests, which emphasize style more than power, battling is primarily power. But it uses power in several different ways. One: in the sense that pure strength. Two: power in the sense of strategy. Three: power in the relationship one has with their pokémon. Battling is intense, and requires years upon years to truly master."

Niko was taken aback by Drake's monologue on battling. "Uh, yes, of course! This is my third conference, too. I think I'll go far."

"You can't just _think_ , Niko," Drake said, holding a finger up. "Thinking only gets you so far. You must _act_. It sounds obvious enough, but many people don't accomplish their goals simply because they say they _think_ they can do it. The mind is a powerful thing, more powerful than we give it credit for. Your mindset has to be solely on winning if you ever plan on being a league champion.

"I say all of this, but you probably have no idea who I am. Well, allow me to introduce myself. I am Drake, the Dean of the Hoenn Elite 4."

"The 'Dean?'" JJ asked.

"It means I am the longest serving member of the Elite 4 here in Hoenn. Agatha in Kanto, for example, or Bertha in Sinnoh. They are the oldest and longest-serving members. And, generally, when challengers face us, they face me last."

"So you're the strongest?" JJ asked.

"I wouldn't exactly say that. Even dragon types have weaknesses."

"So you specialize in dragon types?" Brittany asked. "One of our friends also specializes in them," The brunette explained, thinking immediately of Fay and his penchant for the dragon type during their journeys.

"Indeed. As I said, I believe battling is about power. So are dragon types. I've also been around them my whole life, and so I understand them the best, and they understand me in turn. Niko, since you're probably training for the Ever Grande Conference, how would you like to battle?"

Niko, again in a matter of minutes, found himself taken aback. "Me? W-why?"

"I am interested in seeing how powerful you are. If you defeated Juan in Sootopolis, you must have _some_ talent when it comes to battling. Show me that talent."

Niko hesitated for a moment, but then nodded. "Alright, I accept your challenge, Drake."

"Perfect. Let's go out onto the deck. It'll be a simple one-on-one battle, if that's alright," Drake said, leading the four trainers out onto the deck. "Crew! Make way, I am challenging one of our passengers to a pokémon battle!"

Instantly, every crew member on the deck immediately moved to the side. Niko walked to the opposite end of the deck, and his friends moved to the side with the crewmembers. Just then both Niko and Drake pulled out pokéballs and summoned their respective pokémon.

"Shelgon, I choose you!" Drake yelled out in his rather deep voice.

"Snorunt, let's go!" Niko commanded.

"Interesting, Niko," Drake commented. "I see type advantages matter to you."

"Yeah, it was an old rival of mine that convinced me of that. Snorunt, use icy wind!"

"Shelgon, block it with rock tomb!" Drake commanded. The endurance pokémon surrounded itself with long slabs of rock. Meanwhile, JJ, Brittany, and Jake were huddled around the latter's pokédex as they examined this unknown pokémon:

" _Shelgon, the endurance pokémon. Dragon type. It hardly eats while it awaits evolution. It becomes hardier by enduring hunger. Its shell peels off the instant it begins to evolve_."

"Shelgon, now use dragonbreath!" The captain commanded.

"Snorunt, use protect!" Niko commanded. However, the move the snow hat pokémon was still trying to learn failed, and snorunt got slammed in the face by the purple and orange flames. Clearly upset now, snorunt slowly got up and cowered a little. "Hey, snorunt…" Niko said, crouching down to the level of his ice pokémon. "You're stronger than this shelgon. Naturally, your ice type moves can do a lot of damage, and make it easier for you to win. Understand?" Snorunt nodded, and its face began to slowly express determination towards winning. "Alright, let's show this dragon how it's done. Snorunt, use icy wind!"

"Shelgon, protect!" Drake commanded.

"Snorunt, rush forward and use crunch!" Niko shouted. The snow hat pokémon charged across the deck towards its opponent, opening his hat to reveal a set of teeth.

"Dragonbreath!" Drake shouted. Right when shelgon breathed purple fire in snorunt's face, Drake issues another command. "Dragon claw!"

Shelgon's front right claw began to glow purple as it leapt into the air with surprising strength and slashed at snorunt, hurtling it across the side of the deck towards JJ and Brittany. Snorunt, to the shock of everyone, got back up, albeit breathing heavily.

"Sno…sno…runt…sno…" It said. Upon Niko's command, it then belted out a cold blast of wind at shelgon, who tried to retaliate with rock tomb but failed. Snorunt then, out of nowhere, conjured a beam of ice and blasted it at shelgon.

"What the-?" Niko wondered. "Was that…ice beam?"

"Looks like it, Niko!" JJ called out.

"Shelgon, rock tomb on snorunt!" Drake commanded. Just as snorunt was about to use icy wind again, the endurance pokémon conjured several rock slabs around snorunt, crushing it within. "And…stop," Drake said. Shelgon released snorunt from the rock tomb to reveal a now defeated snow hat pokémon. "Good match, Niko. I wasn't surprised by your choice of snorunt, but you did surprise me by how you interacted with it."

"Thanks, Drake," Niko said as he walked over to pick snorunt up. "I found this little guy in a cave near Mossdeep City. It's still afraid of things like water, and it doesn't have a lot of battling experience, but it certainly has the ambition to get better, and I like that in a pokémon."

"And it will make you a better trainer and battler because of it. Well done," Drake then turned to his crew. "Now, let's get a lunch set up for our guests, shall we?"

Within the hour, a feast was ready to go for the group. There, they talked with Drake, Fitzwilliam, and some of the other crew members about their adventures in Hoenn as well as in Johto and Kanto. Drake seemed particularly interested in their gym battles, and apparently was familiar with Clair from Blackthorn City.

"Us dragon trainers are very familiar with one another. There aren't many who specialize in dragons, since they're so difficult to train."

"That's actually what Clair told us," Niko said in between bites of his lunch. "Also, I have a question."

"What is it, Niko?" Drake asked, looking curious.

"We didn't sign up for this ride to Pacifidlog Town. Who did?"

Drake raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I thought he told you. Hmm…well, I guess Juan needs to work on his communication skills, then," Drake said with a slight chuckle.

"Juan did this for us?" Brittany said, also in shock, like Niko was.

"Yes, indeed he did. Juan spoke very highly of you, Niko. He spokes highly of all of you, actually. And we're both close friends, since we've been in the business of battling for decades now."

"Next time you see him, can you thank him for us?" Niko asked.

"Of course, Niko. Of course I can do that," Drake said warmly.


	47. Going for a rapid spin!

**Episode 47: Going for a rapid spin!**

The boat ride to Pacifidlog Town didn't take much more than a day. By morning of the day following their departure from Sootopolis City, the group had finally landed in the town where Brittany would compete for her final contest ribbon. As they were getting off of the ship in Pacifidlog Town, they turned back to thank Drake for the ride.

"Like I said, it's no problem. Happy to help aspiring young trainers like yourselves. Also, Brittany, best of luck. Niko, I hope to watch your battles in Ever Grande."

"Thanks, Drake," Niko and Brittany both said appreciatively as the Elite 4 member turned back and the ship sailed off. Now, the group turned to the oddly built Pacifidlog Town.

The town was built on wooden rafts and logs that supposedly float on top of a colony of corsola. As expected of a type of town, it was very small. They walked around until they found the Pokémon Center, which was a far smaller building than they were used to, and had a single empty room for use by trainers. After checking them and their pokémon in, they spent some time looking around the town. As expected, there was a contest hall, but it wasn't in the town proper. It was on an island to the north, only a couple minutes away by walking.

"So, uh, do we just head over there?" JJ asked. "The contest doesn't start for a couple hours."

"Why not? It'll be easier for us to do some last-minute training," Brittany mentioned. Since the Lilycove Contest, she had been coming up with some new moves, but hadn't had much time to practice them, since they've spent most of their time either touring a city or travelling by water.

"That's true. I have no idea what I'm going to do…" JJ said, looking contemplative. "I mean, I have no chance of going to the Grand Festival. Is there any point in me even competing in this one?"

"That's entirely up to you, JJ," Niko replied. "You aren't a bad coordinator, and it isn't your goal, so it's totally up to you bud."

"Niko's right," Brittany added. "It'd be great to do one last contest with you, but if you don't want to, you definitely don't have to."

"Well, when you put it like that…" JJ said, looking perplexed. "Yeah, I guess I'll go for it…"

"Good on you, bud," Niko said, slapping his friend on the back. They had finally made it to the contest hall, where JJ and Brittany registered, and then the group went back out to the front to do some last-minute training before the contest. Brittany was thinking of using wartortle this time, since it had been a while since the turtle pokémon had participated in one. Likewise, JJ was going with marill, who hadn't participated in a contest yet, unlike his four other pokémon.

They spent the following hour or so practicing and perfecting their performance moves before people starting walling into the contest hall.

"Looks like you two are on," Niko observed. "Go on," He motioned Brittany and JJ, who responded appreciatively before heading into the building. "Think Brittany's got a shot at this?" Niko asked his brother, who was holding mudkip in his arms.

"Yeah, I think so. She's gotten a lot better as a coordinator!" Jake replied cheerfully. He always enjoyed watching his friends compete, but it made him more excited to try it out for himself one day. He was constantly telling Niko or JJ what he might have done if he was challenging the types of trainers that his brother or Brittany face in their competitions. Sometimes he would say a similar strategy, or he might try to search for an improvement to it, based on the pokémon they're facing. It quickly became clear to the three older trainers that Jake was going to be a great trainer one day.

Meanwhile, JJ and Brittany were sitting the backroom with the half dozen other coordinators. Since Pacifidlog Town was small and somewhat remote, and the Grand Festival was only a week away, most coordinators either already got enough ribbons to qualify or they wouldn't be able to in time. Therefore, for the few that still needed a third ribbon—like Brittany—the stakes were higher than they have ever been.

"Hello everyone! Welcome to the Pacifidlog Town Pokémon Contest! I am Vivian Meridian, and I will be your host for today's event. For those unfamiliar with contests, I will run through them with you. There are two stages: The Performance and Battle Stages. In the Performance Stage, coordinators will show off the moves their pokémon know, and in the Battle Stage, they will show their moves in a battle—with style, of course!

"Now, let me also introduce our three judges: Pacifidlog Town's very own Nurse Joy! Mr. Contesta, and Mr. Sukizo. They will rate the performances of each coordinator's style performance, and judge the battle only in the event of a tie or when one trainer's pokémon faints. And so, without further ado, let's bring out the first coordinator today. From Pallet town in Kanto, please welcome JJ!"

The curly blonde trainer jogged onto the stage, waving to the far smaller audience than he usually received for these contests. Once he reached the center stage, he summoned marill.

"Alright marill, let's use charm!"

The aquamouse pokémon winked a few times and then bounced around happily on its spherical blue tail, clearly captivating the audience.

"Now, use water gun!" JJ commanded. The small bursts of water popped each charm bubble that marill had previously emitted, creating small bursts of blue sparkles in the air, almost like muted fireworks. He then bowed as he finished his performance, resulting in the audience applauding him and marill. They turned and walked back into the backroom, exchanging spots with a hometown coordinator named Derek.

"Nice job, JJ," Brittany said simply.

"Thanks. I hope I did well. I just wanted to give marill some exposure too, y'know?"

"I totally get it. Spheal might, if I can use it in the Grand Festival," Brittany said, looking down at wartortle's pokéball. The two trainers sat in silence before it was Brittany's turn to go. She was the fourth coordinator up out of seven total.

She approached the platform to a round of applause, most distinctly the cheering from Jake and less from Niko, who preferred to silently cheer his friends on, but Brittany and JJ always knew he was there intently watching). She pulled out her pokéball and tossed it into the air, summoning wartortle.

"Alright buddy, let's go! Use rapid spin and water gun!"

"Tort!" Wartortle cried out as it jumped into the air and withdrew into its shell, spitting out water as it spun in midair.

"Now, let's shake things up a bit. Use skull bash vertically into the air while using water gun!"

Wartortle landed back on its two feet as it looked up into the air. It then withdrew its head into its shell and, with the power of its legs, burst into the air while spraying water upwards. This gave the effect of wartortle encasing itself in a shield of water before it ended the attack and descended back to the ground, again landing on its two feet and throwing out its arms in a "ta-da!" fashion.

The audience applauded Brittany and wartortle as the former returned the latter to its pokéball and exited the stage.

"Wow, Brittany that was awesome!" JJ said, complementing his friend.

"Thanks," The brunette said kindly before sitting down. "I was wondering how that skull bash move would look on stage. Turned it just fine. Wartortle just doesn't go that high, though."

"Which isn't really a problem, if you think about it," JJ said. "You do it for the effect, not the strength."

"That's true, actually. Thanks, JJ," Brittany said as the last three coordinators performed. As it turned out, only Brittany made it to the Battle Stage, along with three other coordinators. JJ, having been one of the three to not make it, wished Brittany good luck and walked out of the backroom to the stands to join Niko and Jake. Brittany and her opponent—Derek from Pacifidlog Town—were up first.

Vivian Meridian introduced both of them and instantly they summoned their pokémon. Brittany sent out wartortle, and Derek sent out his dustox.

"Rapid spin and water gun!" Brittany commanded.

"Dustox, use psybeam!" Derek shouted. The turtle pokémon jumped forward, instantly withdrawing into its shell and spinning towards the poison moth pokémon. Fortunately, the psybeam was blocked by the rotating water gun, and wartortle slammed into the bug type, knocking it backwards. "Use moonlight!"

"Don't let up! Use rapid spin again!" Brittany commanded. Wartortle, still within a close range of its opponent, continuously slammed into dustox, knocking it backwards furthermore, depleting Derek's performance bar on the monitor. "Now, finish it off with skull bash!"

"Dustox, protect!" Derek commanded. However, wartortle took some time to charge up its skull bash, and when the attack finally launched, dustox's protective shield was waning. The shell powerfully slammed into dustox, sending it hurtling into the wall below the stands, and instantly knocking it out, giving Brittany and wartortle the win roughly a minute into the match.

"Looks like dustox is unable to battle," Vivian said shrugging. "Guess Brittany and wartortle are moving on to the final round!"

"Great job, wartortle!" Brittany said, embracing her starter pokémon. "We're moving onto the finals!"

"Wow, she could actually make it into the Grand Festival!" JJ exclaimed. "That's awesome!"

"I figured she could," Niko smirked. "This is something she is good at, and something she clearly enjoys. She'll win this, and then go far in the Grand Festival, I think."

"Maybe win it all?" Jake asked, looking up at his brother.

"Maybe. But she'll have some tough competition in Slateport, that's for sure."

In the backroom, Brittany sat alone with wartortle as they watched the other semifinal match go on. It was a battle between a mawile and a medicham. Either looked like they would be difficult to battle in the end, and as it turned out, it was the mawile that made it through.

Brittany and wartortle walked onto the stage to face Susan and her mawile. "Ladies and Gentlemen of Pacifidlog Town, please give a round of applause for our finalists! Brittany from Vermilion City, and Susan of Slateport City!"

"Mawile, let's go!" Susan commanded. "Use faint attack!"

"Wartortle, use rapid spin!" Brittany said, knowing fully well that the attack would hit all the same. As expected, the deceiver pokémon slammed its flytrap-like jaws at wartortle's shell, knocking it to the right of Brittany. Luckily, it was able to regain its composure when it reappeared from its shell. "Now, use water gun!"

"Mawile, ice beam!" Susan commanded, and her steel type pokémon instantly froze the burst of water—and nearly wartortle, who escaped by an inch and charged forward again with rapid spin. The two exchanged attacks—faint attack and rapid spin, or protect and water gun, but by the second minutes neither pokémon had made any significant ground on the other, as both Brittany's and Susan's bars were at about half-empty on the monitor.

Brittany began to consider other possible options. _Mawile is a steel type I believe. Then how can I beat it? I don't have any moves that are naturally effective. Skull bash is the closest thing that I have._ "Wartortle, use skull bash!"

"Mawile, ice beam! Freeze it in place!" Susan commanded. The deceiver pokémon released a stream of cold energy at wartortle, freezing the front of its shell where its head would normally be. Moments later, the turtle pokémon launched forward using its legs. It slammed into mawile's enormous jaw as the steel type bit down onto its shell. "Now, mawile, use ice beam once more!"

"Wartortle, water gun and rapid spin!" Brittany commanded. While still in mawile's mouth, wartortle sprayed water everywhere as it attempted to spin around. Due to the tight grip mawile's jaw had on the turtle pokémon, water ended up only spraying into mawile's jaw, quickly overflowing it and causing it to release wartortle from its vicegrip-like hold. "Now, use rapid spin and water gun again!" The brunette coordinator shouted. Wartortle slammed its shell into mawile's jaw, constantly spraying it with water as it spun. It then stopped and landed on its feet as mawile collapsed onto its left side in defeat.

"Mawile is unable to battle, wartortle wins! And the victory in the Pacifidlog Town Contest goes to Brittany!" Vivian shouted, followed by the applause of the audience, particularly JJ, Jake, and Niko (who was also loudly cheering). Brittany hugged her pokémon harder than she ever had before, overjoyed.

"Wartortle, we made it to the Grand Festival! And it's all because of you!" Moments later, Susan and mawile approached her, as did Vivian and the other judges with the ribbon.

"Brittany, best of luck in the Grand Festival. I'm obviously sad that I didn't qualify, but I will be rooting for you in my hometown. And so will mawile!"

"Maw!" The deceiver pokémon shouted enthusiastically.

"Thanks, Susan," Brittany said before looking to Vivian, who offered her the Pacifidlog ribbon.

"Brittany, I'll be seeing you next week in Slateport City. You've now qualified for the Grand Festival!" She shouted cheerfully.

"Thanks Vivian. I'll be sure to see you there!" She said, turning away to exit the stage and go towards the main lobby, where her friends were waiting to congratulate her. Moments later, they left the constant hall behind them and went off to grab a celebratory dinner at a local small diner in the town proper.

"So, now we have to plan how we'll get to Slateport City from here," Niko said in between bites of a sandwich. "And you said it's in a week?"

"Yup," Brittany said as she finished a soda. "And according to JJ's pokénav, it'll take us about half a long to get there, depending on what we use to travel."

"Routes 132, 133, and 134 are known for their heavy currents," JJ noted. "It'll be difficult to get across them. So we'll need a boat that can do that."

Niko nodded. "Well, we live in a town suspended on wooden rafts. Shouldn't be hard to find someone to help us out," They all agreed and continued their early dinner.

As they were leaving, however, they heard an explosion off in the distance, back east from where they came from. There was an enormously tall tower a couple miles away from the town.

"Guys…what's that…?" JJ asked worriedly.

"Don't know…wait!" Niko said, squinting to see if he could tell what exactly he was looking at. "That's a dragon…a salamence, actually…"

"No…way…" Brittany said in slight shock. "That can't mean…"

"Zinnia. That's the Sky Pillar she was talking about," Niko said bluntly.


	48. Delta, Part 1

**Episode 48: Delta, Part 1**

Niko and his friends looked out at the Sky Pillar, where they had just seen an explosion open a wide hole in the side of the building. Moments later, they saw a salamence flying around the hole, and Zinnia riding atop it.

"How're we going to get there?" JJ asked. "We have to do something!"

"No idea…" Niko said, trying to come up with a solution. It's too far for him to battle from, otherwise he'd send swellow into the fight. "Can we borrow a boat or something?" Looking around frantically, he saw no boat, but did see a metagross flying through the air towards the Sky Pillar, with a tall, familiar man standing atop it. "STEVEN!" Niko shouted, catching the ex-champion's attention. The metagross turned around and descended to the rafts of Pacifidlog Town.

"Niko, Brittany, what are you all doing here?" Steven asked, looking concerned. "You should all get inside. We've got this taken care of?"

"'We?'" Brittany asked. "Unless you mean all of us, all I see is you."

"No, I've summoned Wallace and some of the Elite 4 to help us. From our intelligence, it looks like Team Magma and Aqua are there."

"As well as Zinnia," Niko said, pointing to the dragon flying through the air.

"Right. Anyways, you should find a secure place. This could get ugly."

"No, we're helping. We just need to find a way up there," Niko replied decisively. Steven sighed, realizing it was useless to try and argue.

"Fine then. Skarmory, claydol, come on out!" The ex-champion said, "Let's get these kids up to Sky Pillar. They're gonna help us out."

The two pokémon nodded, and Niko and Jake jumped on to skarmory while JJ got on claydol. Brittany joined Steven atop metagross, and the three were off.

The Sky Pillar was an enormously tall building off on the outskirts of Pacifidlog Town, near Route 131. Niko, Steven, and the rest of the group flew to the western end of the pillar, a couple floors below the site of the explosion. Metagross blew a hole in the wall using psychic, and they all landed safely. Looking around, the inside of the building was quite impressive, albeit very damaged, likely from the battle ensuing on each floor of the pillar.

"Where do we need to go?" Niko asked, looking around before noticing a stairwell leading up. "There?"

Steven nodded, and the five trainers and their pokémon ran off. As soon as they ascended to the next floor—one below the explosion-rattled floor—they ran into a crowd of Team Magma and Aqua grunts fighting it out. The group tried to sneak around them, but they were too large of a group and were near-instantly noticed.

"Hey! It's you kids!" One Team Aqua grunt shouted. "The ones from Meteor Falls!"

"Yeah!" A Magma Grunt shouted in concurrence. "Numel, use flamethrower on them!"

"Wartortle, water gun!"

"Mudkip, water gun!" Brittany and Jake both shouted. "We've got this, guys, you go on!"

"Jake, I'm not leaving you," Niko said, ready to begin fighting.

"Niko, don't worry. I've got him…" Brittany said with a determined expression.

"Same here," JJ said, summoning shroomish. "We'll deal with them."

"Got it," Steven said, "Skarmory, claydol, assist them as much as you can. Niko, you and I can deal with whatever's upstairs, right?"

Niko hesitated, looking back at Jake and seeing the power in his eyes, and then nodded. "Yeah, let's go," Steven grabbed his arm and pulled him up the next flight of stairs where they saw the source of the explosion. There, in a battle with Zinnia and her salamence was none other than Courtney and her camerupt.

"Courtney!" Niko shouted out. The Team Magma leader turned around to face the brown-haired trainer.

"Ah, of course. Niko…" She said with an emotionless tone. "I should have expected you and Steven to show up. Rematch from Mossdeep now?" She said, cocking her head to the side.

"What is going on?" Niko asked. "I don't understand why you're all doing this."

"Of course a child wouldn't understand our plans. It happened last time, and it'll happen again this time."

" _I'm NOT a child_!" Niko shouted, "Lairon, grovyle, let's go!"

"Niko, don't be so hasty…" Steven cautioned, although he also looked ready to battle.

"No, Steven. I'm tired of seeing these jerks! These evil teams trying to destroy the world, or whatever. It gets old, and I'm going to stop them today. Grovyle, leaf blade on camerupt! Lairon, use iron tail!"

"Camerupt, eruption," Courtney began, "And if that's how you want to 'end this,' then so be it. But I will destroy you this time."

"Niko!" Zinnia shouted. "Just go! I can handle her!"

"Clearly not!" Niko shouted back. "It's not like they're leaving!" As he said this, he felt something hit his back, knocking him to the ground. "What the…"

"Surprise, child," Niko turned around to see Team Aqua's leader, Matt, standing above him. The massively tall man in only pants and a bandana stood over him, ready to beat him up. "This is the last time you interfere with anyone's plans."

"Really, Matt? You're just going to kill the kid outright?" Courtney asked in a bored tone. "You really don't have any class, typical Team Aqua."

"Look at you, Courtney! What respect do you have for buildings? You blew a damn hole in it!"

"It's to get rid of that pest in the sky," Courtney said, pointing to Zinnia. Angered, the Draconid's salamence launched a hyper beam, to which Courtney responded by summoning her crobat to take the hit and respond with aerial ace. "Now, camerupt, use earthquake!"

"What?" Steven shouted out. "You'll collapse the floor! All of us—including you—will go down with it!"

"You'd think that, right?" Courtney smirked, showing the first real sign of emotion. "Crobat, come," The large bat-like pokémon returned to its trainer and Courtney grabbed onto it, floating off. Camerupt then began to shake the ground.

"Niko, we have to get everyone to safety!" Steven said.

"Alright, but swellow! Go after Courtney and Zinnia! Use aerial ace!" Niko commanded. Steven, following the trainer's example, called for skarmory to do the same. He then ran down with Niko to the floor under them to alert the room. Realizing what was happening, everyone piled into the stairwell to run down, regardless of their affiliation. Soon enough the floor that camerupt stood on collapsed, and the eruption pokémon was returned as it began to fall.

A crowd of grunts and the group all stared at each other, panting from the adrenaline rush they just received. However, moments later Magma and Aqua grunts were back to fighting each other, with or without their pokémon.

"We will prevail! The world will be covered in land!"

"Never! The seas will expand to create new life for water pokémon!" Grunts from both teams shouted at each other. Niko looked around for his friends, noticing that they were all still safe, and still battling with grunts.

"Steven…what do we do?" Niko asked exasperatedly. "We have no idea what their endgame is, and there's too many grunts here…"

"Niko, we need to take out the leaders. Where is Matt?" Steven asked calmly, noticing that Matt wasn't even on that floor.

"Maybe he went back upstairs?" Niko suggested, turning to grovyle and lairon. Both of them shrugged as well.

"He used the earthquake as a distraction…" Steven said before bolting back up the stairs, metagross behind him. Niko returned his pokémon and followed. When they passed the floor that collapsed, Niko saw swellow rush through the gigantic hole in the wall and slam into the opposite wall, right in front of its trainer.

"Swellow!" Niko shouted, grabbing for his flying type. "Are you alright?" He turned to look at Courtney who, while still hanging onto crobat, pointed to Zinnia. "You…you didn't…!" Niko shouted again. All Zinnia did was fly up and out of sight. Moments later, Courtney followed on crobat, albeit slower. "Steven, we need to keep going!" Niko said angrily before he realized Steven was already gone. Nodding to himself, he kept running upwards, returning his defeated swellow to its pokéball.

He made it to the top of the Sky Pillar as the sun was setting. There stood Zinnia, Courtney, Matt, and Steven, all staring down each other, their pokémon at the ready. Niko pulled out a pokéball of his own and approached the four leaders.

"Someone's going to tell me what's happening!" Niko cried out. "Right. Now."

Courtney, looking bored, answered. "We all want Rayquaza," She said. "But for different reasons, it seems."

"The only pokémon capable of stopping Groudon and Kyogre is Rayquaza," Zinnia explained. "Both of these morons want it so they can control one—or both—of the superancient pokémon."

"Wow, the Draconid is smart," Courtney said, turning back to Niko. "That's our plan in a nutshell. Satisfied?"

"Not until you're defeated. Grovyle, let's go! Leaf blade on camerupt!"

"Silly kid. Camerupt, flamethrower! Crobat, aerial ace!" Both attacks hit grovyle, knocking it backwards. The flamethrower hit second, dousing the wood gecko in a stream of fire. "Finish it off with sludge bomb, crobat!"

"No!" Steven shouted. "Metagross, psychic!"

The iron leg pokemon's eyes began to glow, and crobat found itself being hurtled into a nearby pile of rocks. Matt then pulled out a pokéball of his own to challenge Niko, while Zinnia's salamence turned its attention towards camerupt.

"Sharpedo, let's go!" Matt commanded. "Crunch on grovyle!"

"Manectric, use shock wave!" Niko shouted angrily, his discharge pokémon launching out of its pokéball and conjuring a blue lightning attack against the shark pokémon, hitting it square in the face, causing it to crumble onto the ground. "Grovyle, are you alright?" The wood gecko nodded as Niko was kneeling down to check on it. "Alright, good. Return buddy, you did a great job," Niko looked up, noticing that Zinnia wasn't around. "Steven, where'd Zinnia go?"

The ex-champion shrugged. "No idea. Wait…there she is! Up on that platform!"

It was true—Zinnia had ascended another set of stairs to a raised platform on the top of Sky Pillar. There, her and her whismur stood in the middle as she pulled something off of her ankle, a chain of circular stones. Moments later, both Courtney and Matt noticed what she was doing, and commanded their pokémon to attack. Camerupt and sharpedo both launched flamethrower and hydro pump, respectively, at the Draconid, but it was blocked with salamence's protective shield that it conjured.

"NO!" Courtney shouted out. "You won't get Rayquaza!" She rushed forward with camerupt, but they were intercepted by salamence once more.

"Niko…" Steven said, "Do you think Zinnia is good?"

"I don't know what to think, actually," Niko responded, still looking frustrated and confused. He then ran forward as well, only to be met with resistance from salamence.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Sky Pillar, JJ, Brittany, and Jake were fending off grunts, trying to prevent them from going upstairs.

"What's going on up there anyways?" JJ shouted to his friends, but a grunt responded instead.

"Only what we came here for. Our team's ultimate goal!" An Aqua grunt replied.

"And that is…?" Brittany asked before commanding wartortle to use skull bash on a carvanha.

"To control Rayquaza and Kyogre, and rule the world! Expand the seas!" The grunt shouted, raising his arms into the air.

"You mean Rayquaza and _Groudon_ , you moron!" The Magma grunt shouted. Suddenly, the two got into a fist fight, knocking each other to the ground, allowing the three trainers some room to exit and run up the stairs to see what was going on.

When they got there, they saw a bright light emanating from the center of a raised platform. Atop it looked like Zinnia, and Niko, Steven, Courtney, and Matt were all trying to get past her salamence, but were stopped by its protective shield and its dragonbreath attacks.

"Niko!" Jake shouted to his brother, who turned around instantly.

"Jake! Get away! Brittany, JJ, go!" He replied, but it only caused his friends to move closer.

"No Niko! We're helping you out!" Brittany said as they and their pokémon all ran to the bottom of the stairway leading to it to stand to with their friend. "Wartortle, skull bash on salamence!"

"Marill, water gun!"

"Mudkip, water gun!"

All three attacks hit salamence, but the dragon pokémon swatted them away with relative ease. Over the enormous dragon, they noticed Zinnia's chain beginning to glow a bright green color.

"Is she…is she doing it?" Matt said, astonished at the sight.

"Yeah, she's summoning Rayquaza," Courtney answered. "Camerupt, earthquake!"

Suddenly, the ground began to shake, causing everyone to fall to the floor, including Zinnia. The bright light that surrounded her faded with her collapse. The chain left her hand and fell to the floor, rolling a bit away from her. It was then that Courtney bypassed a surprised salamence and grabbed the chain, only to thrust it into the air as the Draconid had done. It began to glow a bright red color, and the platform she was on began to shake.

A piercing cry erupted throughout the sky. Dark clouds filled the sky above them. And, moments later, a long, green and yellow pokémon emerged from above the clouds and descended towards the platform.

"Rayquaza," Courtney shouted. "You are mine!"

-To Be Continued-


	49. Delta, Part 2

**Episode 49: Delta, Part 2**

"Rayquaza," Courtney shouted. "You are mine!"

The green dragon that descended down to the platform, stopping only a dozen yards from the bottom, looked down at Courtney and the glowing red chain. As a result, its eyes began to glow a bright red as well. It then raised its head and let out an ear-piercing screech, causing everyone to double over while holding their hands to their ears.

"Courtney…why!" Niko shouted out.

The Magma leader turned around almost instantly. Her eyes exuded power as she stared down the young trainer. "I've already _told_ you, Niko! To control Groudon through Rayquaza!" She turned back to the legendary dragon. "Now, you will obey me, Rayquaza. Let's leave these people and summon Groudon!"

As Courtney began to approach the dragon, Rayquaza's tail slammed into the ground in front of her, halting her progress.

"W-what?" She asked in bemusement. Rayquaza—eye's still glowing red—opened its mouth and prepared a hyper beam, aimed right at Courtney. "What are you doing!? No!" She shouted. She luckily got out of the way at the last minute, being pushed to the side by her camerupt, who took the hit and crumbled to the ground. "Why aren't you listening to me!?"

"Because," Steven said, "You weren't chosen to control it."

" _Then who is!?_ "

"A Draconid is," Steven said, nodding to Zinnia, who was still knocked out on the platform next to her whismur, who was trying to wake her up.

Niko simply stood there, frozen at the sight of the enormous dragon pokémon from the sky. Suddenly, Courtney slowly stood back up and stared at Niko and Steven with hate-filled eyes.

"This…this is _all_ your fault!" She spat out angrily, and suddenly ran for them, "Camerupt, eruption! Mightyena, go! Use take down! Crobat, aerial ace!"

Niko pulled out a pokéball of his own and sent out lairon. "Iron tail!"

"Metagross, meteor mash!" Steven shouted.

Meanwhile, Matt—in the midst of the chaos—tried to make a break for the stairwell leading downwards, but was stopped in his tracks by Brittany, Jake, and JJ.

"Where're you going?" JJ asked, smirking.

"Out of the way, kids, now!" Matt said, attempting to bowl over them, but was stopped by pichu, who leapt out of Brittany's arms and used thundershock to temporarily stun the Team Aqua leader, causing him to fall backwards onto the floor.

"Well then," JJ said, peering over at the massive man laying before them. "Good job, pichu."

"Pi! Pi pichu!" The tiny mouse pokémon cheered happily.

"Camerupt, eruption!" Courtney spat out angrily. Behind her, Rayquaza was losing it, using hyper beam everywhere while the Team Magma leader fought Niko and Steven. "Mightyena, crunch on metagross!"

The bite pokémon rushed forward, but was slapped away by metagross' meteor mash. The iron leg pokémon then followed up with a psychic to repel crobat, leaving only camerupt.

"Niko, I'm going to see if Zinnia is okay. Can you handle Courtney?"

Niko nodded. "Yeah, I got this. Go ahead!" Steven leapt onto metagross and, after dodging a few flamethrowers, were able to go towards Zinnia. Steven jumped off and helped pick her up while metagross protected its trainer from the rampaging Rayquaza. Niko then turned to Courtney, who was on a rampage of her own.

" _You!_ " She spat out. "Camerupt, use earthquake!"

"Lairon, brace yourself! You can do it, buddy," Niko said, trying to brace himself as well for the attack. However, it was too much, and he ended up collapsing onto the ground, as did lairon.

"Hah!" Courtney laughed hysterically. Her hood had fallen off now, revealing short pink hair underneath. "Camerupt, finish him! Flamethrower!"

"No!" Brittany, JJ, and Jake all said as they rushed forward to help. But the eruption pokémon was too fast, and it belted out a stream of fire directly for Niko.

"Lai!" Niko looked up to see the flamethrower blocked by his lairon, who had gotten back up at the last minute to stop the attack.

"Lai-lairon?" Niko asked, slowly trying to get back up. The iron armor pokémon turned to look at Niko, taking one final look before it began to glow. "Lairon!"

Lairon suddenly started growing, growing taller than Niko. Its body grew upwards and outwards. Its tail also grew out, and it became bipedal. The armor on its head now gained two horns, and its forehead plating extended past its upper jaw in a small point. Once the glowing stopped, it revealed itself to be an aggron.

"Agg!" Aggron shouted out at camerupt. It then lowered its head, which began to glow a bright gray color, and rushed at camerupt.

Courtney, her expression turning from hysteria to horrified, urged camerupt to use flamethrower, but the attacks bounced off. Aggron's head collided with camerupt's, knocking the pokémon backwards. The iron armor pokemon's tail then began to glow gray, and it spun around and slammed it into camerupt.

" _Aggron, the iron armor pokémon. Steel and rock type. Its iron horns grow longer a little at a time. They are used to determine the Aggron's age. The gouges in its armor are worn with pride as mementos from battles_."

"So aggron evolved to stop Courtney," JJ commented, in awe at the powerful steel type standing in front of them. By now the group was standing together, watching aggron defeat camerupt and Courtney, the latter of which was now frightened beyond belief. Aggron, having defeated camerupt, now turned to Courtney with eyes dead-set on her.

"Aggron, no!" Niko shouted. "We don't hurt humans. Let her go."

The iron armor turned back to Niko and nodded, picking camerupt up and dragging it over to Courtney, who returned it and started to make a run for it.

"No no," Niko said, grabbing her arm. "You're not going anywhere. Aggron, watch her for us."

"And Matt, too," Brittany added. Niko looked over at the stunned Team Aqua leader, chuckled a little silently, and nodded. Aggron grabbed Courtney's shoulder and motioned her over to where Matt was, and stood guard around them while Niko and his group turned their attention back to Rayquaza, who was flying around in the sky hyper beaming everywhere. By now Steven had returned with Zinnia resting on metagross.

"What do we do now?" Niko asked, looking up at the legendary pokémon.

"We have to calm it down somehow…" Steven replied. "Wait, what about that chain?" He pointed to the chain resting on the ground of the platform and then ran over to grab it. However, he was intercepted by the sky high pokémon, whose head descended to the ground and stared at Steven with vicious-looking red eyes. Steven then backed away a bit before metagross shot through the air and slammed its meteor mash onto Rayquaza's face, knocking it to the side and giving Steven an opening to take the chain and run back. Panting, he held the chain up to the group. It was just a collection of glowing red stones collected together in a ring-like fashion.

"So this is what Zinnia was using to summon Rayquaza…" Niko said, reaching his hand out to touch it. The moment he did so, he felt it burn on his fingertips. "Ow! What the hell?"

"It only responds to certain people," A weakened voice said from behind them. The group turned around to see Zinnia sitting up on metagross, holding her head. Her whismur—Aster—was sitting in her lap.

"What is it?"

"It's a collection of key stones. They're used to summon Rayquaza, but only under certain conditions."

"What sort of conditions?" Brittany asked.

"Well, only a Draconid can hold the chain of these specific key stones without being burned by it," She looked up at Steven, who dropped the chain to reveal burn marks on his hand. "See?" She said as she placed Aster back on metagross and jumped off and onto the ground. She walked over to the chain and picked it up again. Suddenly, the color shifted back to a bright green.

The Draconid took a deep breath and hobbled up the stairs and back to the platform where Rayquaza was waiting. She once more held the chain up to it, and its eyes suddenly turned back to their normal yellow color.

"Rayquaza! I am Zinnia of the Draconid people! And we request your assistance!"

"Request assistance?" Niko asked. "For what?"

"Let her finish, Niko," Brittany said, placing a finger up to her mouth.

"There is a meteor coming straight for earth. We need your help to defeat it," Zinnia shouted out. The sky high pokémon leered at Zinnia for a moment, as if trying to understand. It then turned back to the sky, removing the clouds from around Sky Pillar to reveal a dark night sky littered with stars. Moments later, they all saw something bright and orange piercing through the sky. Rayquaza then turned back to Zinnia, leaned its head back down, and ate the chain.

"What!?" Niko shouted out in shock. "Rayquaza _ate_ it!" As he said this, he noticed the sky high pokémon changing shape. It body grew longer, a small delta symbol appearing on its forehead. Its jaw now protruded outwards in the shape of a triangle with the middle-section missing. Long, yellow stream of tendrils extended from the jaw. "What happened to it?"

"It mega evolved," Steven said plainly.

" _Mega_ evolved?" Brittany asked.

"Yes. It's a form of evolution that is unique to certain pokémon. However, sometimes the conditions for mega evolution are different, depending on the pokémon. Rayquaza here is unique in that it is the only known pokémon with an organ that is dedicated to mega evolution, called the Mikado organ."

"So…now what do we do?" Niko asked.

"It's not what we do. It's what Rayquaza does," Steven said, "And, apparently, what Zinnia does, too," He said as he watched the Draconid climb on top of Rayquaza, and the two shot through the air towards the meteor.

"Wait, won't she have difficulty breathing?" Jake asked.

"Yeah, guess so…" Steven replied. It was odd seeing him so passive, as if he knew exactly why Zinnia was doing what she was doing. Moments later, there was an explosion in the sky. The meteor burst into thousands of pieces that fell through the sky, and moments later Mega Rayquaza was descending back to the top of Sky Pillar when something quickly struck it in the side.

"Zinnia!" Niko shouted. "Rayquaza!" They watched as the sky high pokémon lurched around to see what collided with it. It looked like a pokémon. An orange, humanoid-shaped pokémon.

"W-what is that?" Brittany asked, terrified of the relatively small pokémon fighting Mega Rayquaza.

"I know exactly what that is. Metagross, go and help Mega Rayquaza!" Steven shouted. The iron leg pokémon charged through the air towards the battle. "It's the pokémon Deoxys. A psychic-type pokémon said to come from space."

"Space!?" Jake shouted. "That's a _space_ pokémon?" Steven nodded.

"Indeed. It's incredibly powerful, too. And Rayquaza has had to face pokémon like it on a few occasions already, since in order for it to arrive here, it passes through Rayquaza's territory by default."

"Can we help stop it?" Niko asked.

"You can try, but unless the battle comes back down here, I don't see how any of us can do much now," Steven replied as Zinnia's salamence joined in the fight against Deoxys.

"Let us help," Courtney said from behind the group. Matt was now awake, and had previously tried to escape, but was thrown back onto the ground by aggron, who was watching the both of them. "Our crobats can fly up there and join them."

"Alright, go for it," Steven said with a cautionary tone. "But if either of you try anything, we won't hesitate to stop you."

"Got it. Crobat, go and assist Mega Rayquaza!" Courtney shouted. Matt said something similar, and the two large bat-like pokémon charged through the air. Now the fight was five against one, with Deoxys launching itself at Mega Rayquaza while dodging the variety of attacks aimed at it. Just then, they saw a beam of ice unexpectedly hit Deoxys in the side, freezing it and causing it to fall to the ground below. Rayquaza shot downwards and caught the alien pokémon in its mouth to bring it to the top of Sky Pillar. Meanwhile, Niko and his friends looked to see the source of the ice beam.

"Wallace, you finally made it," Steven said, turning to the tall man with light skin, turquoise hair, and a white cap, along with green and teal scarf-like clothing standing next to a milotic.

"Yeah, looks like I missed a lot. How are you, Steven?" The man named Wallace said as he walked up to Steven and shook his hand.

"Fine now. Looks like you dealt the final blow to Deoxys."

"Deoxys? Really?" Wallace asked, turning to Mega Rayquaza, who dropped the alien pokémon from its mouth onto the ground, which shattered the ice. Regardless, Deoxys wasn't moving, indicating defeat. "Well then, looks like you need to bring me up to speed."

"I will, but we need to finish up here. Wallace, we've apprehended Magma and Aqua's leader," Steven said, motioning his hand over to Courtney and Matt, under the gaze of Niko's aggron.

"Ah, well, not technically apprehended yet, but I see what you mean. They won't escape your aggron."

"Oh, no no, that's not mine. It's Niko's," Steven explained, turning to the brown-haired trainer standing behind him. "Wallace, this is Niko. He's just finished his gym challenge and will be entering the Ever Grande Conference. Niko, this is the champion of the Hoenn region, Wallace."

"Niko, it's a pleasure. Thank you for all you and your friends have done tonight. I'm sure it wasn't easy for you all."

"No, sir, no it wasn't. But we all worked together, and that's what matters, right?"

"Of course. So, you're competing at Ever Grande. I'll be looking out for you. Best of luck," Wallace said before turning to Mega Rayquaza. "So, who is this?" He asked, pointing to Zinnia.

"Champion Wallace, I am Zinnia of the Draconid people."

"Pleasure, Zinnia. Now, were you the cause of all of this?"

"No sir, I was merely trying to help out."

"Zinnia commanded Rayquaza to not only mega evolve, but also to stop the meteorite from colliding with the planet. She also helped stop Deoxys," Steven explained. "She is on our side."

"Indeed I am."

"Well Zinnia, thank you as well. On behalf of all in the Hoenn region, I thank you. Now, we should probably leave you be with Rayquaza. I trust that you'll take care of it?"

Zinnia nodded. "It will do no harm, sir."

"Thank you," Wallace said, turning his attention back to Steven and the group. "Let's leave this place. Steven, meet me in Sootopolis. We can talk there."

"Sure, let me get these kids back to Pacifidlog Town first. They're on their way to Slateport City."

"Oh? For what?" Wallace asked, now looking curious.

"I'm competing in the Grand Festival," Brittany stepped forward.

"Oh? Well then, I wish you the best. I was once a coordinator as well, just like my mentor Juan. Like him, I also won the Ribbon Cup in Slateport many years ago with milotic here."

"Oh?! That's awesome!" Brittany exclaimed.

"Yes, indeed. Well, if I don't get to see your performance there, then I wish all the best. Niko, I will be at Ever Grande, and I hope you go far. If Steven recognizes you as a good trainer—and I'm sure he does—then you must be."

With that, Wallace turned his long white cape around and walked down the stairs. Steven motioned them to follow, and by the time they all made it to the bottom of Sky Pillar, Wallace was long gone.

"Now, to deal with these two," Steven said, turning to Courtney and Matt. "I've already got authorities on their way. You'll get to see your former bosses very soon, I think."

Neither leader said anything as a fleet of police boats arrived at the island Sky Pillar was on. Half a dozen Officer Jenny's and other officers got out of their boats and proceeded towards Steven, who spent some time talking with them while the four trainers turned to each other.

"Wow, what a night guys," Niko said, looking back at the officers.

"Yeah, almost feels like a dream actually," Brittany added. "I'm just ready to get to sleep. It's been a long day."

"You've got that right…" JJ said, yawning. Soon enough, each of them were yawning. Moments later, Steven walked back over to them, realized how tired they were, and brought them back to Pacifidlog Town.

"I can't express to you four how much I appreciated the help. You really showed your stuff today. Thank you."

"Anytime Steven," Niko said, shaking the ex-champion's hand. "After all, it looked like the world might have ended. Or at least Hoenn."

"I don't think it would have gotten that far, but you certainly prevented a lot of people from getting hurt in the process. Anyways, you've all had a long day. Get some rest, you'll need it," He was just about to leave when he turned back to them. "Say, how exactly are you getting to Slateport City?"

"We don't exactly know yet…" Brittany admitted.

"Alright, I'll keep that in mind. Good night," The ex-champion said before he exited the Pokémon Center and disappeared on metagross, leaving the exhausted group of trainers to immediately head to the only available room and crash instantly on their beds.

* * *

 **Author's Note: I understand that I might not have executed the Aqua/Magma/Draconid plot as well as I could have, but i'm satisfied with how it turned out. Hopefully you are as well. Now we've just got the Grand Festival and the Ever Grande Conference! Enjoy!**


	50. A break

**Episode 50: A break**

The group woke up the following morning (or, well, early afternoon, rather) still exhausted from the battle at Sky Pillar. While Niko, Brittany, and Jake were getting dressed and packing up, JJ was on his pokénav, using a new "News" app that was available for download only days prior. Scrolling through, he was able to see some articles about the events the night before.

"Hey guys, check this out: 'Team Aqua and Magma caught at Sky Pillar, awaiting trial.' Looks like they're done."

"Well, not technically," Niko commented, "But basically, yeah. There's no way they get out of that easily. I can imagine Steven and Zinnia will be witnesses to that."

"What happened to Zinnia last night?" Jake asked, "We didn't see her leave."

"Steven told her to take care of whatever she needed to with Rayquaza, that's all. Hopefully she got back home, wherever that is," Niko replied, sitting back down on his bed. During the night he had a dream about the battle at Sky Pillar. In it, he was Rayquaza, and he was battling Deoxys. He could see the pokémon more closely, and felt thankful for the help of the other pokémon, as well as Zinnia's direction. To him, it felt real. Almost too real.

"Niko?" Brittany asked, waving her hand in front of her friend's face. "You alright?"

"Oh? Yeah! Just zoned out, still tired I guess," Niko said as he got back up and threw his backpack over his shoulder. "Let's head out then, right?"

"Well, how're we getting to Slateport City?" Brittany asked. "We have a little under a week to get there."

"No idea, but Steven seemed interested in helping us again, didn't he?" Niko asked with a raised eyebrow. Brittany shrugged and they all packed up and left their room. As they entered the main lobby of Pacifidlog Town, they saw Steven sitting on one of the couches reading a magazine. Seeing the group approach him, he placed the magazine back down and stood up.

"I've always been fascinated by pokéblock recipes. Never got much into the culinary aspect of it, but I do recognize the use of that kind of skill. Anyways, how are all of you doing this morning? Or, should I say afternoon?"

"Still tired," Niko said, shrugging. "Is there anything we can help you with…?"

"Well, more like the opposite, actually. I've got a ride for you to get to Slateport City. But, there's a catch this time."

"What's the catch?" Brittany asked. To this Steven simply smiled.

"I can't give you the ride myself. I have to deal with the fallout of last night, and so I'll be busy in Sootopolis, Ever Grande, and Rustboro for the next couple of days at least. But I did ride one of my boats here from Slateport for you to take back to the city. When you return the boat to the harbor, look for a man named Jax. Otherwise, unless you have any other questions, I have to get going."

"So, lemme get this straight," JJ said with a bemused expression, "You're loaning us one of your boats—that none of us can operate—to ride through water currents to Slateport City, all in one piece?"

"If you could handle last night, you can operate a boat," Steven said bluntly, albeit with a smile nonetheless.

"Got it. Thanks again, Steven, we owe you one," Niko said, shaking the ex-champion's hand.

"My pleasure. I just hope you and Brittany will do your very best in your respective fields. While I won't be at the Grand Festival, I will be at Ever Grande in a couple weeks. You can be sure of that."

Steven then said his farewells and exited the Pokémon Center, leaving Niko the keys to the boat and a small note with basic instructions, as he correctly assumed none of them knew how to use the boat. After a quick lunch, the four exited the center for the small harbor in the western part of Pacifidlog Town. When they got there, they noticed Zinnia sitting on what looked like their boat with Aster standing on the railing, looking out to the ocean beyond.

"Zinnia…?" Niko asked as he approached Steven's boat. The Draconid, upon hearing her name, turned slowly towards the group and smiled warmly, which looked like a first from their perspective.

"Oh, hey you all. Got a minute?"

"Err, yeah, actually," Niko said, "We're just on our way to Slateport."

"Grand Festival? Good luck," Zinnia said as she jumped off of the boat and landed on the wooden raft below, Aster quickly following suit.

"Err, thanks, Zinnia," Brittany said. "Anyways, what do you want to talk to us about?"

"I just wanted to say thank you. I've seen you around for the past several months, meddling in things you probably shouldn't have been meddling in, but it seemed to have paid off in the end. I guess maybe I'm also sorry for not taking you all seriously?"

"It's fine. We get it," Niko said, placing his hand on her shoulder, which caused her to flinch momentarily, but Niko hardly noticed. "You don't need to apologize to us, Zinnia. We just wanted to help. All of us."

Zinnia turned away for a moment, almost looking ashamed. But her expression quickly shifted back to one of satisfaction. "Well, you four really made a difference last night. Even if it didn't seem like it, you three," she pointed to Brittany, JJ, and Jake, "held off those grunts while Niko, Steven, and I dealt with the leaders. That made a huge difference, because I couldn't deal with all of them while battling Courtney and eventually Matt. And, Niko," she turned to look back up at Niko, her black eyes staring into his blue ones. "You definitely made a difference. You didn't have to go after the _leaders_ of those teams, but you did, and I appreciated it, even if I didn't show it."

She then stood on her toes, lightly touched her lips to Niko's cheek, and then quickly turned back around.

"C'mon Aster, let's get going,"

"Whis! Whismur!" Aster shouted gleefully as the two disappeared moments later on a salamence.

Niko stood there, frozen for a moment, and trying not to blush in front of his friends. Before he realized it, they were all on the boat waiting for him. Frantically, he jumped onto the boat and pulled out the keys and instructions, and moments later they revved up the boat's engine and were off…

…if they didn't nearly crash into a rock a minute into their journey.

"JJ!" Niko shouted, throwing his backpack down to leap into the passenger seat of the boat and yank the wheel from JJ's hands. "You nearly freakin' crashed this thing!" With a sigh, he pushed JJ out of the driver's seat and sat down. "I'll operate this for a bit. You can later."

With a small huff, the curly blonde trainer went to go put his stuff down as well, leaving Niko to get them on their way to Slateport City and, they would later see, some rather rough currents.

* * *

For most of the journey, Niko was in the driver's seat, calmly guiding them through the water while JJ, Brittany, and Jake were paying attention to the pokémon. Or most of them, as some—like aggron—couldn't be let out of their pokéballs due to their size and weight. They killed the time by grooming their pokémon, playing card games, and eating occasionally. All the while, Niko sat in the driver's seat, spending most of his time thinking.

 _That dream last night…why was I Rayquaza in it? Should I have asked Zinnia about it? No…then everyone else would have known about it, and maybe she wouldn't have had an answer for it. Or maybe I'm just overthinking things. Yeah, that's probably it. I've had dreams before of battles and stuff. This is no different._

 _Also…why did Zinnia kiss me? Does she have feelings for me? Just because I helped her out one time? Well, two times, but who's counting? No, I'm overthinking it again. Bah, whatever. It's not like it would work out with someone like Zinnia, even if it could._ Niko kept himself occupied by his own thoughts for much of that day, occasionally thinking about the upcoming Ever Grande Conference and Melinda. He wondered how awkward it would be seeing her again, especially after his vague, confusing confession to her. He also had to think about the conference itself. Were his pokémon ready? He planned on using his Hoenn team only this time, since he started completely fresh when he travelled to the region almost eight months ago. He figured that, if he could beat trainers like Juan, Tate and Liza, or Norman, he shouldn't have a problem with a lot of the trainers there. However, a lot of them _also_ beat these gym leaders, including Melinda, whom Niko has never won a battle against. _If I have to battle Melinda…will I be able to beat her? Will my emotions get in the way? No…they can't. Not this time._

Meanwhile, Brittany and Jake were playing a short card game while JJ was brushing growlithe, umbreon, combusken, pichu, and spheal. He had the most difficulty with pichu, as it would occasionally release electric sparks, which JJ didn't seem to appreciate, as he had a metal brush.

"Sorry about that, JJ," Brittany said apologetically on behalf of her tiny mouse pokémon. "Pichu does that on accident sometimes."

"Yeah, I noticed," JJ said bluntly as he continued to brush the electric type. "Ow!" He said, tossing the brush aside to nurse his fingers. "Pichu, you have to learn to control your electricity!"

"Otherwise it won't evolve, apparently," Brittany said, "Pichu naturally can't control their electricity, but a pikachu can. A pichu controlling its electricity is usually a sign of evolution."

"Oh," JJ said, looking down at the tiny mouse pokémon sitting in his lap. "I had no idea. That makes sense, I guess," He said, picking up the brush and continuing.

"Hey, JJ!" Niko shouted from the driver's seat. "Can you check the map and see how far we've got to go?"

JJ nodded, pulling out his pokénav. Luckily, they had a GPS feature installed on it prior to obtaining it, which allowed them to more accurately guess how far they were from their destination. "Couple hours, probably. Need to switch?" Niko nodded, and JJ got up from his brushing to take over. Niko briefly explained to him how to move the boat and such, and then walked over to sit with Brittany, Jake, and his own pokémon.

Grovyle and numel were napping, while manectric was watching pichu attempt to control its electricity, presumably upon hearing how critical it was to evolving. Swellow sat on the railing watching the pokémon in the sea and sky. Aggron was in its pokéball, and snorunt sat next to Niko watching Brittany and Jake play cards. For a while, Niko watched the two play their game before turning to snorunt.

"So, snorunt," Niko said, getting the snow hat pokemon's attention. "The next couple weeks we really need to train hard. We've got all the badges we need to compete in the Ever Grande Conference, where we'll be up against really strong pokémon. So I'm going to need you to give it your all, got it?"

"Sno sno!" Snorunt cried out, looking determined.

"Good, because we've got some time before Brittany's Grand Festival to do some training. I want to work with you on that protect move and ice beam, since I remember you using it before and I think it'd be a good move for you to know. Understand?" Once again, snorunt nodded, looking happy that Niko was giving it some attention. Niko continued to watch the card game for a bit before going over to the passenger seat and talking with JJ.

"Hey, Niko, what's uh up?" JJ asked, looking over briefly at his friend.

"Nothing, just a lot on my mind," Niko responded, looking ahead at the ocean beyond.

"Yeah? Like what?"

"Just the Ever Grande Conference. I think I'm going to stick with the six pokémon that I caught here. I just wonder if it'll be enough."

"Enough to win it all?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I think that you can go far. To be honest, I don't know if you can win it. I might be wrong, y'know, but from the perspective of someone who's watched two leagues now—Kanto and Johto—the thing that beat you and Fay in the quarterfinals was a super strong opponent. Fay had that tyranitar, and you had Elliot, who you've never beaten."

"What if that ends up being Melinda?"

"What if it does?" JJ asked, sounding confused. "You can beat her. You haven't, but you also hadn't beaten Fay before you beat him in Johto. There's a first time for everything, right?"

"I suppose so."

"Look, your team is strong. I think if you just keep training, you'll do fine. Plus, that aggron looks damn powerful. What was that move it used when it evolved?"

"No idea dude," Niko said, shrugging. "I looked in the pokédex. There isn't a move registered in it that's anything like what aggron used."

"Why not call it 'steel head' then? Or 'iron head'?"

"Makes sense, it started to glow gray like it does when it uses iron tail. Iron head sound fine," Niko said, leaning back in his seat. "How're you feeling?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like, how is everything with you? Do you feel like you're getting any closer to being a better breeder?"

"Well, maybe, actually," JJ said, "the contests do help some. It allows me to grow _with_ my pokémon. And they seemed to enjoy them. Marill certainly did. And, like, they learn new moves and new ways of using their moves."

"That's good to hear. Have you talked to Maizie at all?"

Hearing this, JJ sighed. "No, not much. I kind of want to go back to Kanto after your Ever Grande Conference, just to uh see what's been going on. We haven't heard anything from Fay, either."

"Yeah, I wonder how he's been. Probably gets to see a lot of cool dragon pokémon."

"Well, so have we. I mean, that Rayquaza, dude. Fay would be through the roof if he got to see that."

"I bet he'd _love_ Zinnia, too," Niko said, laughing and thinking of the Draconid for a moment.

"Oh, by the way, Niko. What was up with that kiss from Zinnia?"

"That? No clue. I don't feel like I really deserved it. I mean, it's not like I saved her or anything. And it wasn't even just me. She should have kissed you, Jake, and even Brittany, if she's into that."

"Well, she kissed you. You clearly meant something to her," JJ commented. "But, it's not like you'd get to see that thing with her any further. We're still on the move."

Niko nodded, since JJ verbally expressed all of his thoughts. "Yeah. Women are confusing sometimes."

"I hear ya," JJ said. "Oh, look, guess we're getting close!" Niko squinted his eyes and, lo and behold, JJ was right. They could see civilization off in the distance.

"Looks like it. Well, JJ, good job on driving the boat, or whatever you call it," He said as he got back up and walked around the deck to pack things up. Nearly ten minutes later they had reached Slateport's harbor, and preparation for Brittany's Grand Festival would begin.


	51. Sphealing victory!

**Episode 51: Sphealing victory!**

"Welcome one and all to the Hoenn Grand Festival, here in Slateport City! Excitement is in the air as Hoenn's most talented coordinators are about to give it their all in the quest for the Ribbon Cup. Each participant has had to have earned at least three ribbons in contests hosted all around the region! As always, I am your host—Vivian Meridian—and in just a moment we will commence the first round of appeals. But first, let's break down the sequence of events. First, we will have a Preliminary Round where all coordinators will have their pokémon perform only a single move. This will strike the perfect balance between power and display necessary for any Top Coordinator. Not only will the pokémon be judged on its moves, but also on its entrance, execution, and grace. Coordinators will also be judged on how they interact with their pokémon. Only the top 64 coordinators will proceed to the next stage: The Main Stage.

"There are two rounds to the Main Stage: The Appeals and Battle Stage. These are much like the contests that participants have already been through. The Appeals Stage consists of pokémon performances with a time limit of up to three minutes each. The panel of judges evaluates each performance by scoring the contestants on a 100-point scale. The top 32 coordinators with the highest scores move on to the next stage: The Battle Stage.

"In the Battle Stage, each coordinator will compete in Contest Battles, each with a five-minute time limit. We have a computer that pairs coordinators based on their scores in the first point. All battles are conducted in the double battle format. There are five rounds in the Battle Stage, and whoever wins all five rounds will be declared the winner of the Grand Festival, and will receive the Ribbon Cup.

"Now, allow me to introduce our judges for the Main Stage: The Chief of the Pokémon Activities Committee, Paul McKinnon; the President of the Pokémon Fan Club, Kevin Jared; and Nurse Joys from Slateport City, Lilycove City, and Petalburg City. Now, without further ado—let us begin with the Preliminary Round!"

* * *

Once the group landed in Slateport Harbor, they found the man named Jax that Steven referred them to, and returned the boat. Jax—a tall, built sailor with an aggron tattoo on his right shoulder—kindly received the keys to the boat from Niko and wished them the best of luck in Brittany's quest for the Ribbon Cup. Immediately, they headed for the Pokémon Center where they grabbed some food—they were starving—and went to some of the rooms in the back for travelling trainers.

The following morning, they woke up to the bright spring sun peeking through the blinds in their room. Slowly getting up, the four trainers grabbed some breakfast before deciding what to do that day. The Grand Festival wasn't for four more days, which gave both Brittany and Niko some time to prepare for their grand events. Niko suggested they head to the beach to train, as that's where he went last time they visited Slateport City.

In the warm sand, Niko summoned his full team of pokémon to give them instructions on how to train that day, with the obvious exception of numel. Grovyle was to work on speed alongside swellow, since Niko was struggling to find new moves for the two to learn. Manectric would continue working on thunder, although since they were in a public setting it might be difficult, so Niko sent it to work on speed training for the time being. Aggron, due to its size, wouldn't be doing much until more people left, so Niko wanted it to just practice its iron head and iron tail attacks. Lastly, snorunt would continue working on protect, saving its ice beam training for later.

Brittany spent a considerable amount of time with her pokémon as well, primarily practicing their moves. She felt confident in most of them, and so sent three of them—wartortle, tangela, and combusken—to practice some of their moves while she worked specifically with her other two—pichu and spheal.

"Alright you two, if we're going to go far, then we need to really work on your moves. Pichu, I want to help you master volt tackle, alright? Spheal, you've never done a contest before, but you watched the last one, right?"

The ball pokémon clapped its flippers together cheerfully, indicating that it had. Brittany laughed—she loved the energy spheal brought to her team, since it balanced nicely with wartortle's and tangela's more calm demeanors.

"Well, I've actually got an idea for what you can work on. Can you use ice ball for me please?" The brunette answered, moving some of her hair behind her ear. Spheal nodded, conjuring up a ball of ice nearly as big as itself and tossing it onto its head. "Perfect! Let's see what tricks you can do!"

Spheal nodded, moving left and right as it balanced the ice ball around without even looking. It was clear to Brittany that she had caught an unusually talented pokémon without even realizing it. The ball pokémon then lifted itself up onto its tail and balanced the ice ball on its nose, moving left and right once more in a rhythmic motion to maintain its balance.

"Alright, let's keep working on that!" Brittany shouted joyfully, clapping to indicate her approval. "Pichu, I've got something in mind for you," She said, leading the tiny mouse pokémon over to an open area to practice something she had in mind.

* * *

The next couple of days went by in largely the same fashion, with Niko occasionally battling with Jake, JJ, or Brittany to test the results of his training. Brittany in particular appreciated the training, since she assumed that the Grand Festival—like any ordinary Pokémon Contest—would have a battling component to it. Generally, Niko won the battles, but Brittany beat him in style and grace, as her pokémon seemed to move more smoothly than, say, Niko's aggron or snorunt, or even his manectric.

The day before the Grand Festival, Brittany and her friends walked over to the Festival site and registered her for the event. As soon as she walked into the massive five-sided building, she noticed she wasn't the only registrant that day—dozens upon dozens of other trainers were walking around, showing off their pokémon or engaging in some way with other potential competitors. Brittany nervously walked through the crowd to the registration desk.

"Hello young lady, how may I help you?" The man behind the desk asked.

"Good afternoon, I'm here to register for the Grand Festival," Brittany replied politely, albeit nervously.

"No worries miss. Do you have your ribbons?" Brittany nodded, pulling out the three ribbons she earned in Fallarbor, Lilycove, and Pacifidlog Town. The man nodded, looking back up at Brittany and smiling. "And now, your pokédex, if you have one?"

"Do you need it to see the pokémon that I own?" Brittany asked.

"Indeed. It helps us to prepare for the appeals and matches," He replied, smiling as he entered her pokédex information into a nearby computer. "Excellent, thank you so much Brittany, and best of luck! Oh, and here is a guidebook. This has a map of the stadium, tournament rules, and restaurant locations. And you will have a dorm key for your stay here in Slateport."

"Thank you so much," Brittany said, bowing slightly before turning around and speed-walking over to her friends. They all gave her a curious look, as if she had just seen a ghost. "Well, I'm registered and ready to go!" She said, holding up her dorm key and guidebook.

"You have a place to stay here?" Niko asked, ignoring her obvious nervousness. Brittany nodded. "Well, guess we'll be staying in separate places this time. Also, you should probably read that book," He said with a wink.

"Oh, Niko!" Brittany snapped back. "Of course I will! Speaking of which, I think I'll go find my room and start reading!" She said, slightly frustrated as she walked out of the main building in search of her new sleeping quarters.

"…did I say something wrong?" Niko posed the question to Jake and JJ. "It was just a joke."

"I think she's just scared," JJ said, "This is the first major competition she'll be in. Remember how you were at the Indigo League?"

Niko nodded, thinking back to his first time competing in a Pokémon League. He figured that Brittany needed her space for now, and he would give it to her until she was ready to meet up with them again.

The three boys spent the rest of the day either hanging out with their pokémon or eating while Brittany sat in her dorm room, her full team sitting around her, as she read the rules aloud to them. They all sat, intently listening to their trainer and friend go through each section of the Grand Festival in detail. None of them really knew who would be going first, and some of them—pichu, tangela—began to feel a little nervous. It was then that Brittany finished going through the rules and segments of the event that she looked at her five pokémon, looking slightly relieved.

"Wow, it's not your ordinary contest, is it?" She asked with a nervous chuckle. "Well, I think I've got an idea of how we should go about this. Pichu, I want you to go first," The tiny mouse looked into Brittany's eyes with shock.

"Yes, you. You're ready for a contest. Now, let's go grab some food and get a little rest. We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

* * *

Brittany sat in the backroom, nervously holding pichu's pokéball. There were trainers of all shapes, sizes and, oddly enough, hairstyles walking around the room. Some were nervous, and some were haughty, but all were competing that day. The preliminary rounds were going by unusually quick. There were 168 coordinators competing in this Grand Festival, and only 64 would continue on to the Main Stage. Brittany's number was 89, and it was fast approaching. Before she knew it, she was up.

"And our next contestant, hailing from Vermilion City in the Kanto region, Brittany!" Vivian Meridian shouted out, throwing her hand back to the stage as the brunette trainer walked up, clad in her black t-shirt and jeans with her hair let down past her shoulders.

"Pichu, you're up!" She shouted, tossing the tiny mouse's pokéball into the air with grace, causing it to land on the ground and open upon contact, releasing the electric pokémon. "Now, run in a circle and use volt tackle!"

Pichu nodded, running around Brittany as they had practiced on the beach. "Pi pi pi pi pi pi pi!" It shouted as electricity began to cover its body, giving it a distinct yellow glow around it. Electricity piled up around Brittany and above pichu, as if the mouse was creating a wall around its trainer. Suddenly, it began to glow unexpectedly. Brittany spun around, watching her pichu grow slightly larger _while_ it was using volt tackle.

 _Pichu, are you evolving?_ Brittany asked herself, beyond surprised and elated that the pokémon she raised from an egg was evolving before her very eyes, and at a moment where gracefulness and the relationship between pokémon and trainer mattered in a competition. Suddenly, pichu stopped in front of Brittany, revealing itself not as a pichu, but now as a pikachu.

"Pi, pika-chu!" The mouse pokémon said cheerfully, running towards Brittany and leaping into her arms. The two laughed a little while they hugged, and Brittany turned to Vivian who nodded with a pleasant smile, dismissing her from the stage. She then sat back down, pikachu in her lap, as they both watched the 80 or so other coordinators compete. Eventually both Robert and Madeleine walked onto the stage, using their delcatty and milotic, respectively. Brittany watched Robert's with amazement, and Madeleine's with definite distain.

After all 168 contestants competed, Vivian revealed the faces of those who were to proceed to the Main Stage. As it appeared, Brittany made it, as did Robert and Madeleine.

"Pikachu, we did it," Brittany said softly to the electric pokémon, who looked up at its trainer and nodded.

"Pi-ka!" It replied, stretching its arms out, turning around, and hugging Brittany again, resting its head against her chest.

With the preliminaries taking up most of the day, the Appeals round would have to wait for the following day, and so Brittany and pikachu joined their friends for dinner at some sushi restaurant. It had been a while since they had any sort of decent seafood, and so they figured it would be a good occasion to celebrate Brittany's success in making it to the top 64 at least.

"So, you've got the Appeals Round tomorrow?" Niko asked as he bit into a sushi roll.

"Yup! I'll have to use only one pokémon, and it can perform for up to three minutes."

"You know who you want to use?" JJ asked, only to receive a quiet nod from the brunette. "Excellent, I'm excited to see it!"

"I'm excited to show you all, actually!" Brittany said elatedly.

"You seem better now," Niko said politely. "I mean, less nervous."

"I am. Pikachu really helped with that, I think."

"Well, I don't know what you saw when you were in that electric tornado, or whatever it was, but what we saw was pretty incredible. Pikachu really figured out volt tackle, didn't it?" JJ asked.

"Yeah, looks like it did! I'm really proud of pikachu. Didn't see the evolution coming at all," Brittany replied, looking down at the pokéball sitting at the top of her pocket. "I think it really enjoyed the competition. Plus, it got me out of the preliminaries, so I think it feels accomplished, too."

"As it should," Niko replied, again while biting into another roll. The group continued talking for a bit before it got dark and they split up for the night, with Brittany heading back to her dorm room and the boys heading to the Pokémon Center.

* * *

"Welcome to the second day of the Grand Festival, here in Slateport City!" Vivian Meridian announced to the crowd in her signature cheerful tone. "Today we begin the first round of the Main Stage competitions: The Appeals Round. Here, contestants will perform with a single pokémon for up to three minutes each. They may use as many moves as possible. Our five-judge panel will score each performance on a 100-point scale. Now, if we may, I would like to introduce the first contestant, hailing from Slateport City. Please welcome Quinton and his castform!"

A tall, lanky blonde-haired man approached the stage in a three-piece suit, immediately summoning the familiar weather pokémon castform. While he was performing with the normal type pokémon, using a variety of moves, Brittany sat in the backroom with the 62 other coordinators, each waiting their turn.

Brittany got a number before the Appeals Round began: 43, meaning she still had a long way to go before it was her turn. As each contestant used their pokémon—some familiar, some not—she went over the performance for her pokémon of choice, spheal, several times in her head, imagining the order of moves and the execution of each. Every time she practiced it in her head, she hoped that the ball pokémon would remember it just as well.

She also got a chance to see Madeleine's gorebyss perform, as well as Robert's with his beautifly. Both coordinators were quite incredible, showing off not just their pokemon's grace, but also their own. Brittany knew, though, that Madeleine's gracefulness was simply an act—she never considered the auburn-haired trainer to be as kind or elegant in private as she is in public. It's that dichotomy of character, that two-facedness, that irked her so much. She hardly knew Robert, and by every account he seemed like a nice enough guy, but her main rival was by all means the opposite.

"And now, our 43rd contestant, from Vermilion City in Kanto, please welcome Brittany!" Vivian announced proudly, motioning her hand towards the entrance that the brunette coordinator walked through. In her usual, unnaturally casual clothes, Brittany approached the stage and summoned spheal.

"Alright spheal, surround yourself in powder snow, just like we practiced!" Brittany commanded, throwing her right hand out in a gesture and watched as the ball pokémon surrounded itself in fragile flakes of snow, creating a tornado of ice akin to pichu's electric one. Out of fear of repeating her previous performance, she then issued the second command, to use ice ball, effectively ending the powder snow tornado.

Like it had done on the beach several days prior, spheal created a ball of ice nearly as large as itself and tossed it onto its head, performing a very simple balancing act. Next, it stood on only its front flippers, inching forward ever so carefully while still rocking itself left and right to maintain balance.

"Spheal, now on your back flipper!" Brittany commanded, and the ball pokémon obliged, arching backwards so that its entire body—as well as the ice ball—hung balanced on its tail. "Now, to finish: toss the ball into the air and maintain it with water gun!"

Spheal cried out cheerfully as it bounced the ice ball from on top of its nose and almost immediately after released a burst of water to maintain it in the air. Spheal then ended the water gun and allowed the ice ball to drop onto its head, albeit without breaking (luckily) and giving spheal another opportunity to balance it, again with its nose. It tossed the ball back into the air and broke it with a powerful water gun, shattering the ball into hundreds of small ice flakes.

Brittany and spheal then bowed to the ensuing applause, which was loudest from JJ and Jake, who were in the middle of the stands immediately facing her. Brittany eyed them gratefully, nodding before turning around and walking back to the backroom with spheal at her side.

"Great job, spheal!" Brittany said as she sat down and thrust her arms out, allowing spheal to jump up onto her lap. "You made me proud today!"

Spheal cried out happily as the two embraced before watching the last 20 performances of the round. Brittany didn't even get a chance to see her score before she left, but judging by some of the others, she still felt confident that she had a shot at making it to the top 32. After another couple of hours of watching performance after performance, with a short 30-minute break for lunch, the judges finally announced the contestants moving on to the Battle Round.

Brittany immediately saw that Robert, Madeleine, and that guy Quinton made it. Upon further inspection, it turned out that she had also made it, with an average score of 90. Each of the other coordinators familiar to her got similar scores, with Robert getting the highest of the four of them with an average of 96. In her excitement, she ran out of the backroom as soon as Vivian announced that the Grand Festival would resume the following day, and summoned her full team of five pokémon.

"We made it to the top 32!" She exclaimed. Wartortle, combusken, pikachu, tangela, and spheal all cheered happily. "The next round is some double battles, so we'll need to work together as a team if we're going to win it all, alright?"

They all concurred loudly when Brittany felt a tap on her shoulder. Spinning around, the brunette noticed Niko bring her in for a hug, and JJ after him.

"Good job, girl," Niko said with a warm smile. "Now all you've gotta do is win five battles."

"It isn't as easy as you think it is, Niko," Brittany cautioned with a half-frown.

"Oh, I know it very well, actually," Niko replied, laughing. "Anyways, let's go get some food! I bet you're starving!"

Brittany nodded cheerfully, and the four were about to head down to a new restaurant when the coordinator ran into a familiar face.

"Oh, Madeleine…" Brittany said, scowling.

"Congrats on finishing in the Top 32, Brittany," Madeleine said, smirking. "And I noticed you didn't make it, JJ. Shame, Top 168th would've gone nicely after your name."

"SHUT UP!" Brittany shouted, standing on her toes, screaming in Madeleine's face. "Don't you DARE talk about my friend like that, you hear me!"

"Oh, guess I struck a nerve…shame, makes it easier to beat you when you're angry like that. Ta-ta," She said with a pitiful wave before turning around and walking down another street, leaving Brittany fuming and her friends trying to extinguish her anger.


	52. The empathizers

**Episode 52: The empathizers**

Brittany sat in the backroom the following day, waiting for Vivian Meridian to announce the beginning of the third day of the Grand Festival. Thus far, she had made it through the Preliminary Round and the first round of the Main Stage—the Appeals Round. Now, in the Battle Round, she would be one of 32 competing for the Ribbon Cup, the ultimate prize alongside the title of Top Coordinator. That day would see the Top 32 and Top 16 matches, with the fourth day being the Top 8, Top 4, and Final Round.

Previously, she also had an unfortunate run-in with her longtime rival, Madeleine, who chided her and JJ for their apparent lack of skill in Pokémon Coordination. After giving herself some time to calm down, she felt ready for just about anything.

"Welcome one and all to the third day of the Hoenn Grand Festival, here in Slateport City! Today, we will begin the Battle Round, at the end of which we will crown the winner of the festival as Top Coordinator and offer them the Ribbon Cup. Now, if you will, please join me in welcoming the first two contestants to the stage! Robert from Lilycove City and Jen of Dewford Town!"

Brittany watched as Robert summoned his beautifly and delcatty to challenge Jen's marshtomp and electrike. The four pokémon battled it out, with the former pair ultimately claiming victory within two minutes. She found herself amazed by the style and grace of the Lilycove coordinator, and hoped that maybe she wouldn't have to face him.

"And now, next up: From Vermilion City in Kanto and from Rustboro City, please welcome Brittany and Madeleine!"

Brittany stood on the left end of the stage as she stared down her rival, who had a casual smirk on her face as she looked back in a haughty manner. Pulling out two pokéballs, Madeleine commanded milotic and medicham.

"Pikachu, combusken, center stage!" Brittany shouted, her face lighting up with determination. After how Madeleine treated her and—especially—JJ, she wasn't going to let up one bit. "Pikachu, volt tackle! Combusken, fire spin at medicham!"

"Milotic, hydro pump on combusken! Medicham, use hidden power on pikachu!" Madeleine said plainly, as if not caring much for the battle. Milotic released a powerful stream of water across the field towards combusken, but pikachu intercepted it, creating an explosion that it ran directly through to tackle milotic square in the face before feeling the damage from the attack itself. Meanwhile, combusken destroyed the small glowing orbs that characterized hidden power with fire spin, surrounding medicham in fire before it could release its own move. Quickly, Brittany had gained the upper hand.

"Now, pikachu, use dizzy punch on milotic! Combusken, double kick on milotic as well!" Brittany shouted, throwing her arm to the side in a gesture similar to Niko's. Pikachu's hand began to glow a bright pink color as it slammed it against milotic's face, knocking it to the side while combusken spun around and kicked the tender pokémon several times, only turning around to release an ember in medicham's direction to keep it at bay.

"Milotic, u-use recover!" Madeleine desperately commanded before seeing the water type slam its head into the ground in confusion. "NO! Milotic, you can't lose now! I demand you use water pulse on combusken!"

"Pikachu, surround milotic in electricity with volt tackle! Combusken, turn to medicham and use attract-ember!" Brittany commanded, borrowing from her performances in past contests. The mouse pokémon ran at lightning speed, creating an electrical wall around the tender pokémon before slamming into its back. Combusken emitted small pink hearts, lighting them on fire before throwing them at medicham, once more keeping it at bay.

At this point Madeleine began to visibly panic, noticing her bar significantly lower than Brittany's. She commanded milotic to try and use recover once more, and medicham to use psychic on combusken, but only the latter attack landed, sending the chick pokémon hurtling across the battlefield. Pikachu, on the other hand, managed to use thundershock on milotic, now temporarily stunning it.

"Wow, Brittany really is merciless," JJ observed in awe. "She isn't letting up."

"She was really mad yesterday, dude," Niko replied. "Like, I don't think we've ever seen her that angry. Plus, she's also adding some flair to her moves, which isn't helping Madeleine at all."

"Pikachu, finish milotic off with volt tackle!" Brittany shouted out decisively. "Combusken, let's get back up and help pikachu! Use fire spin!"

Combusken belted out a stream of fire that collided with pikachu's volt tackle, creating a layer of flames that covered the electricity. Pikachu ran across the stage like a bolt of lightning and collided with the stunned and confused milotic, knocking it backwards and ultimately defeating it, leaving only medicham left.

"M-medicham, use psychic on combusken!" Madeleine said anxiously. She couldn't believe that a beginner like Brittany had defeated her milotic, of all pokémon. Her first pokémon, her strongest. The meditate pokémon's eyes began to glow as it started to lift combusken into the air, but it was disrupted when pikachu used thundershock on it, saving the chick pokémon.

"Excellent pikachu, now use volt tackle again, spin around medicham! Combusken, add a fire spin to it!" Brittany shouted, thrusting her hand out in a commanding fashion. Both pokémon worked together to create another fire-electric combination move. Pikachu then used the electricity in gathered in running in circles to slam into medicham, forcing it into the wall of electricity and fire. The meditate pokémon fell through the makeshift wall and onto the ground, defeated.

"Milotic and medicham are both unable to battle, combusken and pikachu are the winners, which means the victory goes to Brittany from Vermilion City!" Vivian announced. The crowd erupted into applause as Brittany got onto her knees and threw her hands out to embrace her pokémon.

"I'm so proud of you two. You really showed your stuff today," She said, looking at them and smiling. Looking up, she saw a dejected Madeleine make her way off of the stage without so much as a look back at her rival.

In the backroom, Brittany sat and watched the rest of the first round of battling continue. Quinton seemed to do quite well with his castform and kecleon, but otherwise there weren't many battles worth noting in her mind. Eventually, the results came in before the lunch break, and Brittany noticed that, in the Top 16 round, she would be facing Robert.

During lunch, she chose to sit alone, not bothering to talk to many people. Only those who made it to the next round bothered to stay at the Grand Festival site, while the audience went out to Slateport City to grab food, or sit in the stands with some meals provided by the stadium. Most of the time she spent thinking about Madeleine and the sorrow she must have felt at losing so early on. It made her also think of Niko, who nearly lost his mind and completely gave up on his then-nascent dream of becoming a pokémon master. For someone to whom coordinating is their entire life, being defeated so early in the most important coordinating event of the year must be heartbreaking, and Brittany began to empathize with that.

* * *

Brittany walked onto the stage to begin the Top 16 match against Robert. After some time alone, and watching the first two matches go by, one in which Quinton advanced to the Top 8, Brittany felt recharged and ready to go again.

"We now have Brittany of Vermilion City and Robert of Lilycove City. Whenever you're both ready," Vivian commented.

"Delcatty, rapidash, I choose you!" Robert shouted in his rather deep voice.

"Wartortle, spheal, let's go!" Brittany commanded. "Use rapid spin and water gun on rapidash, wartortle! Spheal, use powder snow!"

"Delcatty, assist! Rapidash, bounce!" The fire horse pokémon leapt into the air, dodging wartortle's attack as it proceeded to slam back down onto the turtle pokémon, who felt crushed underneath the powerful hooves of the fire type. Meanwhile, delcatty used silver wind to block spheal's powder snow, resulting in a stalemate.

"Spheal, ice ball on delcatty! Wartortle, rapid spin on rapidash!" Brittany shouted. _This is definitely a tougher battle, for sure_. Wartortle found its way out of rapidash's grip by spinning around on the ground and then leaping back onto its feet and shot a water gun at the horse's side, causing it to lose its balance momentarily. Spheal conjured an ice ball and hurled it at delcatty, who was shocked by the speed and power of the ball. The ice pokémon then rolled forward and tackled the cat pokémon, just barely dodging an assist in the form of fire spin. Spheal, then noticing the difficulty wartortle was now having with rapidash, turned and launched a water gun at the fire horse's other side while the turtle pokémon hit the first side.

At least, this strategy worked until delcatty used doubleslap on spheal, smacking the ball pokémon with its tail several times.

"Spheal, remember our appeals performance?" Brittany asked aloud. The ice type, still getting hit with the doubleslap, turned to face its trainer and weakly nodded. "Do it again! Wartortle, skull bash!"

"Rapidash, bounce!" Robert commanded. The fire horse launched into the air while wartortle prepared its attack. As it landed, the turtle pokémon backed up slightly and then slammed its shell into rapidash' chest, knocking the fire horse onto the ground. Wartortle then released a powerful gush of water, nearly defeating its opponent.

Meanwhile, while getting smacked around by delcatty, spheal conjured up a close-range ice ball and tossed it in the cat pokemon's face, knocking it back. Then spheal picked the ball up and bounced it on its head several times before spinning forwards and smacking the ball with its tail, hitting delcatty with incredible speed. Both of Robert's pokémon were down, but not yet out. All the same, his yellow bar was nearly finished. All Brittany had to do was either run out the clock or use another move to finish her opponent off.

"Delcatty, sunny day! Rapidash, use fire blast!"

Delcatty looked to the skylight above it and made the light shine brighter in the indoor stadium. Rapidash then released a five-pointed burst of fire at spheal, overwhelming the ball pokémon and causing it to roll several yards away in Brittany's direction.

"Spheal, can you do this? We're almost done…" Brittany said softly. Spheal got back up, nodding, and then rolled back into the battle, where wartortle was quickly outnumbered by both of Robert's pokémon. "Spheal, wartortle, both use water gun on rapidash!"

The two water types looked at each other briefly before turning towards the fire horse and focusing all of their energy on it. Then, they simultaneously released a powerful stream of water from their mouths that crashed into rapidash, sending it backwards and off the stage, defeated. Fortunately for Brittany, that was all she needed. Robert was defeated.

"Rapidash is unable to battle, and Robert has no more points left, which means Brittany is the winner, and will move on to the third round tomorrow morning!" Vivian announced.

Elated, Brittany hugged her two pokémon once more. She was doing far better then she had expected, and at that moment she felt like she had enough momentum in her to go all the way to the top.

That evening, she celebrated her two consecutive victories with her friends, all of whom wouldn't stop talking about how quickly and decisively she had defeated Madeleine. JJ firmly believed that she deserved it. Jake had no idea how tough Brittany actually was, and was simply surprised by how strong her pokémon were. Niko, verbally at least, was surprised at how quickly she defeated her rival. In his head, though, he also empathized with Madeleine, for obvious reasons.

After dinner, Brittany departed to her dorm. On her way, she noticed Madeleine exiting with a bag slung over her shoulder.

"Hey," Brittany said, waving to the auburn-haired woman. Madeleine turned to her, scoffing. Here her height definitely showed, as the two were relatively close in distance.

"What do you want?" She asked, trying not to look at Brittany.

"Well, I wanted to congratulate you. We had a good battle."

"You only think that because you wiped the floor with me," Madeleine said in a defeated tone. "Why should you be congratulating me on anything? It's not like I would have done the same for you."

"No, you're right. You definitely wouldn't. But I wanted to. You're a really good coordinator, whether you believe it or not."

"I don't get it, Brittany," Madeleine said, saying her rival's name for the first time in a tone that wasn't elitist, or vain, or haughty. "I've only been mean to you. I've teased you and your friend. Why are you even giving me the time of day?"

"It's the right thing to do," Brittany said, sitting down on a nearby bench. "And, believe it or not, I know how you're feeling right now."

"Pfft, I doubt it."

"No really, I do. Well, not _exactly_ , but my friend Niko was in a similar position. You see, he wants to be a pokémon master. And even though he didn't realize it at the time, he clearly wanted to when he competed in his first every Pokémon League at Indigo Plateau. He placed in Top 32 as well, and guess what? He lost to his best friend, who beat him badly. I remember watching how he crumbled after that loss. It destroyed him. Made him lose sight of what he really wanted to do. It took a lot to get him back on track, and when he did, he placed in the Top 8 in his next competition, the Silver Conference in Johto."

"What's your point?" Madeleine asked, trying to act dismissive. By now she was sitting next to Brittany.

"My point is don't give up. Niko didn't. I definitely won't, even if I lose tomorrow. Because if your goal is to be the best, you don't let _any_ loses eat away at you. When I first competed in a contest, here in Slateport, actually, I lost to JJ, my friend. I also wanted to give up, but he, Niko, and Jake—Niko's brother—all convinced me, tacitly or not, to continue trying. And look where I am now. I don't know you that well, but I do know that you're a great coordinator. You're ambitious, and so are your pokémon. You exude gracefulness in your performances, even though you've been a jerk to me. You may have inspired people as well, so why pout about it or even think about giving up?"

"I never said I was, though," Madeleine said, trying to feint her actual feelings on the matter.

"I can tell you wanted to, though," Brittany said, slowly placing her hand on Madeleine's shoulder. It felt soft. The auburn-haired woman pulled some hair behind her left ear and began to shed a tear.

"…thanks, Brittany," She finally said, "It means a lot. Really," Madeleine then turned and hugged her rival before standing back up. "I've got to get back home, but I hope you win it all. And if you don't, then keep on trying."

Brittany nodded, smiling. "Thanks, Madeleine. Safe travels."

"You too," Madeleine said before turning around and walking off into the distance, leaving Brittany to sit on the bench and watch the sky turn from pink-orange to dark blue and black.

* * *

"Welcome one and all to the fourth day of the Hoenn Grand Festival, here in Slateport City. I'm your host as usual, Vivian Meridian, and today we will be concluding the Grand Festival with the final three rounds of the Battle Stage! To start off the Top 8 match-ups, we have Brittany from Vermilion City and Quinton from Slateport City!"

Brittany and Quinton approached the stage at the same time, and both withdrew two pokéballs at roughly the same time as well.

"Tangela, combusken, I choose you!" Brittany shouted.

"Castform, kecleon, let's go!" Quinton shouted in a calm yet decisive tone. "Castform, sunny day! Kecleon, use slash on combusken!"

"Combusken, double kick on kecleon with a mix of fire spin! Tangela, use poisonpowder and mega drain on castform!" Brittany commanded. Due to the bright sun shining over the sky light, castform began to change shape, now resembling a sun and clouds. Finding the poisonpowder difficult to evade, it took the attack, but fired back with a move called weather ball, which in this case was a great sphere of fire that castform hurled at tangela. The vine pokémon collapsed on impact with weather ball, and tried to get up before it got hit with another weather ball.

Meanwhile, combusken and kecleon were exchanging blows. The chick pokémon fired off kicks and embers, while kecleon evaded and countered with a slash attack, which usually hit. Quinton then commanded kecleon to use faint attack, which successfully hit and gave the color swap pokémon the opportunity to follow up with a slash attack.

"Tangela, switch to kecleon and use poisonpowder! Combusken, get out of the way!"

Kecleon, in an attempt to dodge the purple powder, changed it color quickly, resembling the battlefield from tangela's perspective, and allowing the normal type to move with relative ease while castform continued to pummel the vine pokémon with weather ball. Combusken, noticing a slight error in kecleon's color change, launched a powerful kick to the side of kecleon's head, knocking it over and returning it to its original state. The chick pokémon turned around to see tangela on the ground, with several burn marks on its vine-covered body. Combusken then rushed towards castform, who upon command from Quinton used rain dance to turn into a raindrop-shaped pokémon.

"Weather ball! Kecleon, use slash on combusken!" Quinton commanded decisively. Castform created a ball of water, akin to water pulse, and launched it at combusken, who got hit in the chest and took a slash to the side from kecleon, ultimately defeating it.

"Tangela, use vine whip on castform!" Brittany commanded. Tangela slowly got back up and, staring down the weather pokémon, unleashed a flurry of vines from its body, all of them smacking at the raindrop-shaped pokémon. It didn't last long, however, since kecleon reappeared from out of nowhere and used faint attack to finish tangela off as well.

"Tangela and combusken are both unable to battle, kecleon and castform win! The victory goes to Quinton from Slateport City!" Vivian announced.

"Hey, you two," Brittany said, walking onto the stage towards her two pokémon. "You both did great today. I'm still proud to be your trainer, through and through, alright?"

Combusken and tangela, though both disappointed, nodded, which seemed to brighten Brittany's situation. It still hadn't occurred to her that her contest career in Hoenn was over. But she didn't think much of it. She just wanted to see her friends.

Minutes later, they met her in the lobby while the other battles were going on. Niko was the first to embrace his friend. Then JJ, and lastly Jake. They were all surprised that Brittany seemed to be taking the loss well enough.

"I'm fine, guys, really!" She said with a slight laugh. "I did better than I thought I would, and that's all that matters to me."

"Well, we're all proud of you, you know that?" Niko said, throwing an arm around her. Brittany nodded, looking up at her friend with kind eyes

"Yeah, I do. Thanks, guys,"

"No problem!" JJ said, throwing his arm around Brittany's other side. Both him and Niko moved inwards, squeezing Brittany until they formed an impromptu group hug that Jake eventually joined in one as well.

The last two rounds of the Grand Festival were enjoyable enough to watch, at least from Brittany's perspective. Quinton ended up making it all the way to the finals and winning the entire competition with his castform and another pokémon of his—an alakazam. Brittany was at least proud to say that she lost to the eventual winner, and was elated at seeing him and his family reunite on stage as they congratulated him on his victory.

Half an hour later, Brittany was back in her dorm room packing things up when she heard a knock on her door. Walking over to open it up, she saw Niko standing there, alone.

"Niko! What's up?" She asked, motioning her friend in.

"Not much, just wanted to see how you were doing," He sat down on her bed. "This is way comfier than the Pokémon Center beds, that's for sure. Brittany nodded in agreement. "And, well, actually, I've had a lot on my mind recently."

"Oh really? About what?" Brittany sat down on her bed next to Niko.

"Well, I don't think I told you this, but back in Sootopolis City, I had developed, err, 'feelings' for Melinda. And they, uh, didn't go so well."

"Oh no…" Brittany said solemnly. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's fine, no need to apologize," Niko looked up at the plain white ceiling above. "But it made me think about how you must have felt last year, at Mt. Silver. I know how you felt then. And I wanted to say I'm sorry for any trouble I might have caused you."

"Niko…" Brittany said, smirking a little. "Feelings, especially feelings of attraction, can often be fleeting. For me, they definitely were. But how I felt about you then is not very different to how I feel about you now, only without any romantic attraction. You're one of my best friends, and I want to keep it that way. You hardly know Melinda, and if you both allow it, you can be great friends too. You shouldn't feel confused or dejected, or awkward. Sure, you can for a bit, but don't let it get to you or harm your performance in competitions, alright?"

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Brittany. I just wanted to clear the air, that's all."

"And I appreciate that," Brittany said with a smile. Once more, Niko wrapped an arm around her and pulled her in close, resulting in a side-hug between the two.

"Now, come on, let's get going! JJ and Jake are starving, and we need to figure out how we're getting to Ever Grande City!" Niko said, pulling both of them onto their feet. Brittany nodded, slinging her backpack over her shoulders and following her friend out the door and into the future.


	53. Flaming passion in icy cold

**Episode 53: Flaming passion in icy cold**

After Brittany's Top 8 finish in the Grand Festival, the group set their sights on their final destination in the Hoenn region: Ever Grande City, where Niko would compete in his third Pokémon League. But first, they needed to find a way to traverse the ocean that led to Ever Grande.

After throwing out a few options, the four trainers settled on going back to see if they could borrow Steven's boat once more. Appearing at the Slateport Harbor, they easily found Jax, the sailor that took care of the boat while Steven was away. At first, he was hesitant about allowing some kids to borrow the boat without Steven's permission, but eventually agreed to call the ex-champion and get his consent properly.

"Yeah…uh huh, yeah I'll tell 'em. Okay…great, thanks Steven," Jax said before ending the call and pocketing his phone. "You're good. He also wishes you safe travels to Ever Grande, and that he will be there to pick up the boat from you after the Conference is over."

"Thanks again, Jax," Niko said as he took the keys from the sailor.

"Yeah, no prob kid. Best o' luck, too."

Niko nodded appreciatively as he, Brittany, JJ, and Jake all boarded the boat and set off on the sea. For much of the journey, Niko would drive, but he occasionally switched with JJ when he got tired. All the while he continued to ponder his chances in the Ever Grande Conference. During their week in Slateport City, he got some training in, but it was difficult to get aggron to train (due to its size) or numel (do to its lack of work ethic). Snorunt—the one pokémon he was focusing on the most—seemed to be getting the hang of things. Niko often found it tiring quickly after using moves like double team or practicing protect, but it had no issues with icy wind or crunch, which made Niko believe that it was not a very defensive pokémon. However, snorunt had an incredible work ethic, and tried harder than most of Niko's pokémon, which made him proud.

He also thought more about Melinda, his dream about Rayquaza, and the "empathy" talk he had with Brittany, but those were nonetheless outweighed by Ever Grande.

The rest of the group mostly spent their time playing cards, grooming their pokémon, or just generally hanging out. Now that Brittany's Grand Festival was over, she hardly had much to do, and managed to kill some time by reading a couple magazines she found in Slateport City. JJ played endless games of cards with Jake, and even tried to teach his pokémon how to. Umbreon—a smart pokémon in its own right—managed to figure it out, but marill, shroomish, and bayleef had more difficulty getting the rules down. Growlithe was more interested in playing with pikachu and spheal, and occasionally snorunt, when the snow hat pokémon wasn't practicing protect or double team.

Day turned to night as they passed the Sky Pillar once again. "Wow, the hole is still there," Niko commented, leaning on the rail of the boat while JJ drove it. He stopped the boat in the middle of the ocean to stare at it as well.

"Yeah…I wonder what Zinnia and Rayquaza are doing right now," JJ queried.

"Probably still resting, if I had to guess. Or trying to raise a new generation of Draconids. Speaking of which, I wonder how you become one. Is it by birth or are you chosen, or what?" Niko asked, furthering adding to the mysteries surrounding the dragon clan.

"No idea. She never really talked much about it," JJ said. "Anyways, let's keep going. We might be able to make it if we keep going through the night, y'know?"

"Well, maybe we should stop in a bit so we can all rest," Brittany suggested, and the three boys all quickly agreed. JJ continued operating the boat for another hour or so until they took a break to have some food together and fall asleep.

The next morning, the continued their journey onwards, stopping for lunch on a nearly island-town because they ran out of supplies.

"Giban Island…" JJ said as he looked on the pokénav. "Not known for much, according to this, but it does have one of the top-rated ramen houses in Hoenn, so that's something."

"Do they have anywhere to shop? We'll need stuff for the next day or so."

"Oh, we can make it to Ever Grande in a day, Niko," JJ said reassuringly. "But, maybe we could get some stuff to go from the ramen house?"

Niko nodded cautiously as the four trainers walked through the town until they found the ramen house. It was a small-sized restaurant, but seemed popular enough that there was a wait for it. Or, so it seemed.

"Why are there so many people here? They're not even eating!" Brittany shouted in frustration.

"Sounds like someone is hangry…" JJ said wryly, getting a threatening look from his brunette friend.

"No, she's right. It looks like they're watching someone…" Niko said, standing on his toes to get a better look over the crowd, as he was the tallest in his group of friends.

"See anything?" Jake asked, looking up at his brother.

"Yep, everyone's crowded around someone," Niko got back onto his feet and tapped a man in front of him on the shoulder. "Excuse me, sir, but what's everyone watching?"

"Oh, you don't know?" He asked in surprised, eliciting shaking heads from the four young trainers standing behind him. "Glacia of the Elite Four is here. Word on the street is she not only loves ramen, but eats it at lightning speed!"

"Glacia of the Elite Four?" Niko asked curiously. He then took the initiative to create a path for his friends, moving through people so that he could get a better look. Soon enough, he saw her.

Glacia was a tall woman with light blonde hair and fair white skin, blue eyes, and a long purple dress. She looked to be in her mid-30s, but by the way she ate ramen, one might guess she was at least half her age. Eventually she finished, footing the bill after listening to the owner's offer of a free meal, and the ramen house steadily became emptier, leaving Niko to stand there, still observing the Elite. Eventually, she turned and looked at him with kind, yet piercing, eyes.

"Hello young man, may I help you?" She asked in an equally kind voice.

"Oh, no, I was just amazed at h-how fast you ate that ramen," Niko commented, albeit little nervously. "I also heard you're a member of the Elite Four."

"Yes, indeed I am. And who might you be?"

"Oh! I-my name is Niko. This is my brother, Jake, and my friends, Brittany and JJ. We're just travelling around."

"Niko's about to compete in the Ever Grande Conference!" Brittany said, slapping her friend on the back before ordering from the menu that was offered to her.

"Oh, is that so?" Glacia said, her eyes turning back to Niko. "Well, I wish you only the best. I'll keep an eye on you, as I attend every Ever Grande Conference, seeing as I live there."

"Are you originally from Hoenn?" Niko asked. Glacia shook her head, but offered Niko a seat across from her.

"No, I'm from a land far away, and have travelled all over the world in search of a suitable place to train ice-type pokémon. I eventually settled here because, even though the climate is not a natural place to raise them, I find it easier to train ice types in a warmer environment."

"You use ice types?" Glacia nodded. "What kind?"

"Oh, a few. Nowadays I just have a simple team that I consistently train. I used to run classes in other regions, training ice type trainers, some of whom became gym leaders or powerful trainers of other sorts. But I have a few that I like to have keep my company. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason," Niko said, shying away by looking at the menu. Brittany, JJ, and Jake all pulled up chairs at a nearby table to listen in to their conversation.

"You must have _some_ reason. Usually, when I meet upcoming trainers, their first instinct is to battle me, hoping that they can win."

"I've heard that before from other members of the Elite Four, actually," Niko said with a shy grin.

"I see. Have you met any members that I might know?"

"Drake and Phoebe," Niko said simply.

"Ah, great individuals. Phoebe is, by all intents and purposes, the kind of woman that I used to be. Drake is an old friend of mine, as we've been in the Elite 4 together for some time. You haven't met Sydney yet, but he is certainly quite the character, let me tell you," She took a sip of water before continuing. "But, yes, you had something on your mind, and I would certainly like to hear it, although I won't pressure you."

"I just found it interesting that you train ice types. I'm currently training one of my own for the league, and it's difficult, even though my pokémon has an incredible work ethic."

"Ah, and what pokémon might that be?" Glacia asked, a brow raised in interest.

"Snorunt, ma'am," Niko said as his ramen appeared in front of him.

Glacia let out a chuckle. "Ah, snorunt. They're a peculiar pokémon. Some are mischievous, and some are quite shy. Some are lazy, and some are very hard working. I've always found them fascinating, which is why I trained two of them to ultimately become Glalie—their evolved form."

"Oh, really? How did you managed to train them to evolve?"

"Experience, mostly, but I found when they were at their proudest, then they would evolve. Whether it's after a tough battle or they're mastering a new move, or both. And, if you're okay with it, I'd like to see your snorunt in battle. You praise it for its work ethic, which isn't uncommon for a snorunt, but it is an interesting trait nonetheless. Has it always been that way?"

"Yes. It's also afraid of water, which I don't understand."

"As I said, each snorunt, much like each pokémon, is different in unique ways. You might have noticed this in your travels, but it is a true test of a trainer to be able to adapt to the unique characteristics of their pokémon. That's why I like snorunt in particular—their personalities can be so very different!"

"Well, then I challenge you to a battle! Right after I finish this ramen…" Niko said, turning to his right and noticing his friends were all done with theirs (JJ even got some to go for everyone, for their journey). Glacia nodded in acceptance, and the battle was on nearly ten minutes later, when Niko and Glacia stood opposite one another on a battlefield on the edge of the island.

"Alright Niko, let's see what that snorunt of yours can do. Walrein, I choose you!"

"Woah…" Brittany said in awe, pulling out her pokédex:

" _Walrein, the ice break pokémon. Ice and water type. To protect its herd, the leader battles anything that invades its territory, even at the cost of its life. Its tusks may snap off in battle._ "

"Snorunt, let's go!" Niko commanded, summoning the snow hat pokémon from its pokéball. "Use double team!"

"Sno!" The ice type shouted as it duplicated itself, creating illusions.

"Now, use icy wind!"

"Walrein, surf!" Glacia commanded. The ice break pokémon summoned a wave of water that it rode across the field towards snorunt. Once the snow hat pokémon realized it, it began to turn and run, but was eventually hit with the wave, sending it rolling across what was left of the battlefield. "Now, use body slam!"

"Snorunt, use icy wind!" Niko shouted. Snorunt opened its maw and unleashed a cold gust of wind, but it hardly seemed to affect walrein, who landed its slam successfully, crushing snorunt under its weight. "Double team!" Niko commanded. Snorunt managed to duplicate itself once more, breaking free of the body slam and running up to use crunch on walrein. It successfully did so, only to be slapped away by the walrus' powerful left flipper, knocking it towards the ocean.

"Walrein, use surf!" Glacia commanded.

"Snorunt, I want you to use protect. You can do this, buddy…run _into_ the attack, and then use protect, got it?"

Snorunt turned nervously to Niko, and then back to walrein, who was advancing quickly enough. It took yet another surf and a slap from walrein's flipper to send it in Glacia's direction. Once more, the ice break pokémon was fast approaching with surf, and snorunt was more nervous than ever.

"SNORUNT USE PROTECT!" Niko shouted out, thrusting his left fist forward. Hearing its trainer, snorunt absentmindedly ran towards the wave and conjured a protective shield around itself before the wave—and walrein—collided with it. It successfully blocked the attack, letting walrein float right over it. Once the attack receded, snorunt turned and unleashed an ice beam at the walrus pokémon, clearly doing some damage to it, as it turned angrily towards the snow hat pokémon. It then charged at snorunt, about to use body slam when snorunt also ran forward and used protect, which caused walrein to bounce backwards, landing back on its flippers in front of Glacia.

Snorunt turned to Niko, jumping in the air for joy before it began to glow a bright white color. Niko stood there in pause as he watched snorunt grow twice its size, turning from a triangular-shaped hat pokémon to a floating ball of ice with two black spikes protruding on each side. Its icy blue eyes looked threatening until it noticed Niko, in which case they became as friendly as can be. Niko pulled out his pokédex to get a better idea of what his glalie was like:

" _Glalie, the face pokémon. Ice type. A glalie has the power to instantaneously freeze moisture in the atmosphere. A dazzling cloud of diamondlike ice crystals forms around its body_."

"Glalie, you did it!" Niko shouted, running over to hug his pokémon. Immediately he realized how cold glalie's body felt against his, and instantly released himself from the hug, confusing the face pokémon. "Oh, glalie…you're just, like, really cold," Niko said with a smile. Glacia then approached the two with her walrein.

"Niko, glalie, you did well. It seemed to me that once glalie got over its fear of water, it cleared its mind and allowed it to have the energy to use protect to its full capacity. In doing so, it was at peak of pride, and that allowed it to evolve. Great job, both of you."

"Thank you so much, Glacia. I understand my glalie better now, but also feel like I have a better understanding of how to build a relationship with my pokémon, too," Niko said, smiling at the face pokémon, who nodded to Glacia and walrein.

"Indeed. Well, best of luck in the tournament. I will be watching," Glacia said with a wink before returning her walrein and exiting the battlefield, leaving the group to themselves.

"So, off to Ever Grande it is?" Niko proposed to his friends.

"Off to Ever Grande it is!" Jake shouted, throwing a fist in the air. Brittany and JJ did as well.

"With some more ramen!" JJ added.

"With some more ramen!" Niko, Brittany, and Jake repeated. Laughing, they made their way back to their boat. With their stomachs full and minds at ease, they were beyond excited to see what the future held for not just them but for Niko, as they rode off to Ever Grande City.


	54. A meeting between friends old and new!

**Author's note: Here we are! The Hoenn League! The next few episodes are going to be _long_ , but bear with me, because it's going to be a lot of dialogue (especially in this episode) and a lot of battles (although, not nearly as many as in the Johto League episodes, you can be sure of that). Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Episode 54: A meeting between friends old and new!**

"Ever Grande City!" JJ shouted as they approached the island on Steven's boat. Niko, Brittany, and Jake all looked up from what they were doing to notice the city slowly appearing in front of them. Minutes later they docked the boat in the harbor, exited the boat, and proceeded into the city.

"So, where first?" JJ asked as they walked down a street in Ever Grande.

"Well, I need to register for the conference," Niko replied. "Is the stadium in the city proper?"

"Doesn't look like it, just a bit north of it," JJ replied, looking at his pokénav. He pointed forward and they continued down the road for a while until they saw a massive lake with several stadiums suspended on its surface. "Woah…"

"That's it!" Brittany shouted in excitement. She turned to Niko, who nodded and continued walking forward, a grin clearly on his face.

They walked along the bridges and into the main stadium, where they saw dozens upon dozens of trainers and, coincidentally enough, a very confused green-haired trainer, who was walking around with a tall, humanoid pokémon with green blades for arms. Niko then raised his hand into the air and began to wave, eventually catching Wally's attention.

"Niko!" Wally shouted, running over with his pokémon to greet his friend and rival. "How are you?"

"Hey Wally," Niko said, shaking Wally's hand, "just got here, and doing alright. You? You look a little lost here bud."

"Oh, looking for my parents, actually. They said they'd meet me here today," Wally said before turning around and seeing them. "Oh! There they are!" Wally waved his hand and a middle-aged couple approached. They both hugged Wally before he turned back to Niko and his friends. "Mom! Dad! This is Niko! He helped me catch my first pokémon and has helped me be a better trainer on my journey!"

"Well," Niko scratched the back of his head nervously. "I don't know about _that_ , but hi, I'm Niko."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Niko," Wally's Dad said, "We've heard a lot about you. You've really left an impression on our kid. He feels more confident because of your friendship. So, on behalf of all of us, thanks."

"Truly, Niko," Wally's Mom said, "From the bottoms of our hearts, we mean that."

"I appreciate that. Wally's a great kid. I've always enjoyed meeting up with him," Niko said with a sincere smile. "Anyways, I've got to go register for this thing. Talk to you later, Wally!"

"Bye Niko, see ya around!" Wally said before showing off his pokémon to his parents.

"He's got some nice parents," JJ mentioned as they approached the registration desk. Niko nodded in agreement before placing his pokédex and glass badge case on the desk in front of him.

"Yeah, I can see where he gets his kindness from," Brittany added, smiling as she turned from Wally over to Niko, who was conversing with the lady at the registration desk.

"Stone, knuckle, dynamo, heat, balance, feather, mind, and rain badges. Well done, Niko," She said as she input his pokédex into a machine and entered his information onto a computer to verify that he can participate. "Alright, here you go," She handed back the badge case and pokédex, "And here is your dorm key for the duration of the tournament. I assume your friends are with you?" Niko nodded, "Alright, then I've got a four-bed room for you instead," She exchanged the keys and handed the new one to Niko. "Best of luck, Niko!"

"Thanks!" Niko said happily before turning back to his friends. "Well, let's go!"

"Are we all staying together, Niko?" Jake asked as they walked out of the main stadium towards the one of the dormitory buildings on the water.

"Of course, bud, that's why I got a different key," Niko said with a smile. "We've done this every year, actually."

"Cool!" Jake exclaimed. "Do you think Mom and Dad are coming?"

"I don't know, did they ever mention that?" Niko asked. "You're usually the one that talks to them on the phone!" Throughout their journey, Jake would occasionally call their parents to fill them in on their adventures and general state of being, which made them both more comfortable. Niko would usually talk to them as well, but he hardly ever initiated the call.

"Yeah, when we were in Sootopolis they mentioned it briefly, but I don't know if they were doing it," Jake said, "I hope they do. You've been doing really well in Hoenn, and I think you could win it all this time!"

Niko responded with a laugh. "You really think so?"

"I know so, Niko," Jake said before patting his older brother on the back. By now Jake was at Niko's shoulders, only a head shorter than his older brother. Niko tried not to believe it, but his little brother was slowly catching up to him in height. He was growing up.

They eventually made it to their room, and immediately threw their bags down on the beds that they each claimed. Niko then grabbed his six pokéballs, placed them in his pocket, and went back out of their usual suite to tour the stadium. While they were walking around, they noticed dozens of trainers either battling or just chatting with potential opponents. Niko understood that most of them would eventually lose, and he might be one of them. _No, Niko! Think…you can win!_ He said to himself, trying to pry loose the negative thoughts.

They made it outside and sat down near the lake surrounding the stadium. Niko sent out his full team to let them soak in the air as well.

"This is it, guys," Niko said as he looked back to the stadium. "The Hoenn League. You all ready?" The six pokémon cheered—even numel—and all looked determined to win. "Well, the first round starts tomorrow and, if I had to guess, it will be a one-on-one match, which I think we can win. We usually do."

Just then Jake began frantically waving his arms, breaking into a run to hug a man and a woman. Niko immediately turned to see his parents standing several yards away.

"Mom, Dad," Niko said before walking over and hugging his parents.

"Niko, how are ya?" His Dad said eagerly, ruffling his son's hair.

"I'm fine, and luckily so is Jake," Niko added, patting his brother.

"And you're ready for this competition?" His Mom asked with a smile.

Niko nodded. "Of course. In fact, this is my team that I plan to use. Hey, everyone, come over here!" Niko shouted to his pokémon, who all walked or ran over. "These are mine and Jake's parents. Mom, Dad, this is grovyle, swellow, manectric, numel, aggron, and glalie."

"Wow, son," Dad said, examining them—particularly grovyle—with a careful eye. "I might have seen some of these in my day, but it's been so long."

"Don't worry, grovyle," Niko said, reassuring the wood gecko, "My Dad is really interested in grass type pokémon. Speaking of which, how are venusaur and the others doing?"

"Just fine. We feed them and sometimes hang out with them every day. You'll be pleasantly surprised to see what some of them can do now!" Mom answered, taking a liking to Niko's manectric. Glalie also seemed to like its trainer's parents, trying to get closer and cuddle up with them.

"And how about Fay? Have you seen much of him around?" Niko asked, but his question was quickly answered by the sudden appearance of a young man with jet black hair approaching from behind his parents. "Fay?"

"FAY!?" Brittany and JJ said as they both turned to see their old companion appear next to Niko's parents. Both of them leapt onto their feet and ran over to greet him.

"Hey everyone!" Fay said. "Long time no see, right?" Fay said. He wasn't wearing a lab coat or his dress shirt and khakis this time, but instead the casual jeans and black hoodie that characterized his person during their adventures.

"Yeah, it's been a while. How are you?" Niko asked, pleasantly surprised.

"I've been alright. Oak keeps me busy, but I get to see some really cool things and pokémon!"

"How are the pokémon doing?" Niko asked, genuinely interested.

"Not bad. When you come back to Pallet Town I can show you. They've definitely gotten stronger, too," He then turned to Niko's pokémon. "These yours? Wow…they look pretty strong," Fay looked particularly at aggron. "I've seen one of these before, out in the Sinnoh region, actually. They're pretty powerful pokémon."

"Yeah, I've loved having aggron around," Niko said, smiling over at the iron armor pokémon, who nodded back. "Well, when I get back to Pallet we should battle!"

Fay smirked as he looked back at Niko. "You're on, bud."

The group continued catching up for the next hour or so, with Fay telling the group about some of his adventures with Oak and Clair, who agreed to help him become a better dragon trainer. In exchange, Niko, Brittany, JJ, and Jake enthralled Fay in their journeys as well.

"Pokémon Contests, eh? Wow Brittany, that's awesome!" Fay said pleasantly. "And Top 8? That's pretty impressive, considering how many entered."

"Yeah, it was actually JJ who encouraged me to continue doing them," The brunette said, turning to her friend. "We've been competing in most of the contests together, and I think we've made each other better because of it."

"That's great to hear. Niko, I can't wait to see your new pokémon in action. Let's see you break the Top 8 this time!"

"I'm definitely hoping to. I think my team can do it," Niko was about to continue until he was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Not if he ends up against me, that is," Niko turned around from where he was sitting to see Melinda looking down at him with a friendly smile. "Hey, Niko!"

"Oh…hey, Melinda," Niko said rather nervously. "How're you?"

"Great, just registered! I'm actually off to see my dorm room, but I just thought I'd stop by and say hello. And, hello to you, too," Melinda said as she turned to Fay and held out her hand. "I'm Melinda, the one trainer Niko can't seem to beat," She said teasingly.

"Funny, because I used to have that role. Name's Fay."

" _The_ Fay? The one they kept talking about? Pleasure!" Melinda said excitedly, thoroughly confusing Fay.

"Yeah, err, that Fay. And you're competing, too? Best of luck!" Fay said with a quick smile before giving Brittany a bemused look. The brunette just shrugged her shoulders.

"Anyways, Niko, best of luck in the first round tomorrow!" Melinda said as she turned around to walk away. Niko simply waved as the black-haired trainer receded from view.

"Odd girl," Fay muttered.

"Yeah, she's pretty cool, though," Niko said as he watched her walk away before turning to Brittany, half-smirking.

* * *

"Welcome one and all to the annual Ever Grande Conference, held here in Ever Grande City!" Colton Goodshow's familiar voice boomed through the stadium. "As usual, I'm President of the Pokémon League, Colton Goodshow, and I'll be your host for this year's Pokémon League in the Hoenn region!

"We've got quite the lineup of trainers from all over Hoenn—and around the world—competing. As usual, there will be 128 trainers registered in this single-elimination tournament style competition. The first round will consist of preliminary, one-on-one pokémon matches. Once the Top 64 trainers have been decided, tomorrow we will conduct the second round of battle. There, trainers will compete in double battles against one another to decide the Top 32. On the third day, the third round will begin, with each of the Top 32 trainers dueling it out in three-on-three match-ups to decide the Top 16. During all of these matches, trainers will be divided amongst the three smaller stadiums and this main stadium. Once we get to the full team pokémon battles, all battles will be conducted in this stadium.

"On the fourth and fifth days, we will conduct the full 6-on-6 pokémon battles until one trainer is left standing. At any point in any match (with the exception of the first and second rounds), trainers may substitute their pokémon like they are permitted to in gym battles.

"And now, we will light the torch to commence the annual Ever Grande Pokémon Conference!" Goodshow announced, and immediately Niko saw a man running up to the massive golden cup to light it, indicating the start of the tournament. "And now, on the monitor you will see the pairings of trainers for the first round."

128 faces randomly moved around on the monitor until they were divided into four sections, one for each of the stadiums. As it turned out, Niko would be in the main stadium, as would Wally, and he was going first against a young woman with short purple hair. Melinda was in one of the smaller stadiums and was going fifth, while Wally was going last in his match-up at the end of the day.

Niko turned to his friends who were standing next to him. "Well, looks like it's starting!"

"Yeah!" Brittany said, holding pikachu in her arms. "Also, a double battle round! That should be fun to watch!"

"Maybe as fun to compete in too, I hope," Niko said before looking back at the screen, memorizing the look of his new opponent.

* * *

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the first day of the Ever Grande Pokémon Conference! I am your host, Colton Goodshow, and today we will see one-on-one preliminary matchups between trainers. Our first match is between Niko from Pallet Town—all the way in Kanto! —against Hailey from Slateport City here in Hoenn!"

The Pokémon League official turned to both Niko and Hailey and explained the rules to them. Once both trainers nodded, the judge threw both flags in the air, indicating the battle had begun.

"Cacturne, I choose you!" Hailey shouted decisively.

"Swellow, let's go!" Niko commanded, summoning his swallow pokémon.

"What's that pokémon?" Jake asked, pulling out his pokédex. He was sitting in between JJ and his parents, all of whom were also intrigued by this pokémon.

" _Cacturne, the scarecrow pokémon. Grass and dark type. After spending thousands of years in harsh deserts, its blood transformed into the same substances as sand. It is nocturnal, so it hunts at night_."

"Cacturne, use pin missile!" Hailey shouted aloud. The scarecrow pokémon raised its arms forward and released a flurry of green missiles at swellow, who skillfully dodged each one and hit the cactus pokémon hard with an aerial ace. "Needle arm!" Cacturne's left arm began to glow bright green as it slammed it into swellow, knocking the pokémon down to the ground aggressively. "Now, use giga drain!"

Roots began to grow out of cacturne's feet as they enveloped swellow and quickly drained the flying type of its energy.

"Swellow, use double team!" Niko shouted. The swallow pokémon duplicated itself, trading places with one of its copies and escaping the giga drain. It then shot back into the air, avoiding a barrage of pin missiles from its opponent. "Now, use aerial ace once more!"

"Cacturne, faint attack!" Hailey commanded. As swellow got low enough to strike with its aerial ace, cacturne disappeared from the field, only to reappear above swellow and slam its thorn-covered body, knocking swellow to the ground and pinning it there. Somehow, aerial ace missed!

"Swellow, double team again!" Niko shouted.

"Cacturne, don't let it get away! Pin missile on both sides!" Hailey commanded. The strategy worked in damaging swellow, but not preventing it from escaping. The swallow pokémon released itself from cacturne's pin-down and finished its aerial ace, colliding with the scarecrow pokémon's face and knocking it onto its back.

"Swellow, finish it off with quick attack and wing attack!" Niko shouted, borrowing from an old strategy of his. Swellow shot back into the air and dove back down, just as pidgeot used to do, and slammed into cacturne with its glowing white wings, keeping the dark type down in the ground.

"Cacturne is unable to battle, swellow wins! The victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!" The judge declared.

Niko held his arm out as swellow flew over to perch itself on it. "Great job, buddy. You helped to set the tone of this, since we went first," Swellow cooed, clearly happy with how well it did. Niko walked back into the stands to find Wally also sitting with his friends and family. They all congratulated him on his battling, particularly Fay, who seemed to enjoy the "throwback strategy" to pidgeot's "quick wing attack" combination.

"Actually, guys, I'm going to go watch another friend compete, if that's alright," Niko said as he got up to leave.

"Oh, Melinda?" Brittany asked curiously. Niko nodded sheepishly.

"Melinda? Niko, who's that?" His Mom demanded to know.

"Just a friend of mine, Mom!" Niko retorted, slightly turning pink before turning around and leaving the stands. Wally got up and followed him.

"Hey Niko, mind if I join you?" Wally asked. Niko turned to his rival and nodded. "Great!" How far is the match from here?"

"Not far, just in one of the smaller stadiums," Niko replied. The two walked to the stadium in silence, both of them unsure of what to talk about. Eventually they made it into the stadium and watched a couple matches before Melinda walked onto the battlefield.

"Which one is your friend?" Wally asked, leaning over the railing to get a better look.

"The one in black hair," Niko said, pointing to the far end.

"Oh! Wow, Niko, she's pretty!" Wally said. Niko nodded curtly before leaning back and watching the match unfold. Melinda sent out her pelipper to challenge her opponent's chimecho.

"Chimecho?" Wally asked before opening up his pokédex:

" _Chimecho, the wind chime pokémon. Psychic type. They fly about very actively when the hot season arrives. They communicate among themselves using seven different and distinguishing cries_."

Melinda commanded her pelipper elegantly, Niko noticed. The pelican pokémon evaded most of chimecho's attacks, whether it was a double-edge or even yawn. The battle went on for a minute or two before pelipper defeated its opponent with hydro pump.

"Wow, Melinda is strong, Niko," Wally said observantly.

"Yeah, I know," He said, confused on how he should feel. He was happy that she did so well in the first round, but had a sinking feeling that he might have to face her. And if he did, could he defeat her and her pelipper? "Anyways, let's get back to the others," He said, standing back up.

"Niko, you alright? You seem off, sort of," Wally asked curiously.

"Oh, no I'm fine, Wally. Just a lot on my mind," Niko replied with a smile. He pushed back some of his brown hair that waved around in the light wind before starting up the steps with Wally.

* * *

After lunch, Niko, his family, and his friends all gathered back in the main stadium to watch the final eight matches unfold in the preliminary round, one of which was Wally's. Niko leaned forward to get a good look as the green-haired trainer competed in his first ever league match. He used roselia to challenge his opponent's zangoose.

"Roselia, use magical leaf!" Wally commanded. The rose pokémon summoned a flurry of purple colored roses at its opponent, who attempted to deflect them with slash but failed and got hit. "Now use leech seed and giga drain!" Wally commanded. Roselia launched two small seeds from its red and blue rose heads that collided with zangoose, who was charging in to use a move called crush claw. Roselia then activated the leech seed, and vines spread out all over zangoose, quickly draining its health courtesy of the giga drain.

Zangoose collapsed onto the ground, tied up in the leech seed that was slowly defeating it. Wally commanded roselia to then use magical leaf again, and just as zangoose used slash to cut through the leech seed, the leaves crashed into the mongoose pokémon, knocking it over.

"Zangoose is unable to battle, roselia wins! The victory goes to Wally from Petalburg City!" The judge declared.

"Yay Wally!" Niko shouted out, throwing a fist in the air. JJ, Brittany, and Jake joined him in the cheering as Wally turned around to see his friends. He waved back, holding roselia in his right arm.

"Phew, that was fun!" Wally said as they all sat down in the main lobby after. "Niko, I'm feeling really good right now!"

"That's great to hear, Wally," Niko said, sitting in one of the armchairs. "Maybe we'll get to battle eventually!"

"I hope we do. I want to show you how strong I've become!"

"Well, if that match was any indication of it, I think I'm in for quite the battle," Niko said, leaning back in his chair. After Wally's match, the pairing for the double battle round appeared. Niko found himself against a pink-haired woman in the fourth match of the round. Melinda and Wally were both in the same smaller stadium, and were going back-to-back against unfamiliar trainers as well. He was looking forward to it. He realized that, the more double battles he participated in, the more he tended to like them. Niko hoped that trend would continue the following day.

* * *

 **Author's note: Yeah, told you it'd be a lot of dialogue! Hope you've enjoyed it so far. Next episode will be the second and third rounds. How far will Niko make it this time?**


	55. Victory on three fronts

**Episode 55: Victory on three fronts**

Niko sat at breakfast the following day alongside Brittany, JJ, Jake, Fay, and Wally as they all talked about the upcoming battles. Fay was particularly interested in seeing how the double battles played out in a league battle, since he never got a chance to compete in one of them during his runs in Kanto and Johto.

"Double battles take some getting used to, admittedly. That, or I'm just terrible at them," Niko said with a laugh.

"Oh c'mon, Niko!" Jake exclaimed before diving into his bacon. "You did really well against Tate and Liza! You should have seen it, Fay, his numel _jumped_ off of lairon's back to use magnitude IN THE AIR!"

"Sounds like quite the battle, Niko," Fay said, "But you were saying double battles take getting used to? How so?"

"Well, I'm speaking just from personal experience. I wasn't very good at commanding two pokémon at once. Like, my pokémon would accidentally run into each other or hit one another with a move. We just didn't seem coordinated. But we managed to perfect it a little more."

"Interesting. But yeah, I'm really looking forward to your match. Your swellow was really impressive yesterday. Reminded me a lot of your pidgeot."

"Heh, yeah. Figured you'd appreciate that," Niko said, turning back to his breakfast. He didn't say much after that, instead listening to his friends talk about other miscellaneous subjects.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the second day of the Ever Grande Pokémon Conference! I'm your host, Colton Goodshow, and today we'll be watching our contestants battle it out in two-on-two, double battle style matchups! Now, let's begin with our first match, from Petalburg City…" Niko droned out President Goodshow's voice as he thought about the battle in front of him. It was between a nidoking and wailmer on one end, and an espeon and Mightyena on the other. The match took quite a while, due to the relative lack of type advantages or disadvantages among the competitors.

Eventually it was Niko's turn, and as he stepped onto the battlefield, he saw his opponent: a pink haired woman with her hair pulled up in a bun on top of her head. The judge then explained the rules of the match and, soon enough, Niko and his opponent—Carly from Rustboro City—were sending out their two pokémon of choice.

"Numel, grovyle, let's go!" Niko commanded.

"Tropius, seviper, I choose you!" Carly shouted. "Use razor leaf! Seviper, poison tail on grovyle!"

"Grovyle, jump onto numel and use leaf blade to block the razor leaves! Numel, magnitude!" Niko shouted. The wood gecko leapt through the air and landed on its partner, pulling out his long green arm-blades and slashing at any leaves that got close to numel while the latter shook the ground aggressively, halting seviper in its tracks. "Now, grovyle, rush forward and use leaf blade on seviper! Numel, flamethrower on tropius!"

"Tropius, protect! Seviper, poison tail!" Carly commanded. Grovyle charged at its opponent and spun through the air horizontally before slamming its blades on seviper's head. However, the poison tail still struck the wood gecko in the chest, hurtling it into the ground. Grovyle clutched at the poison mark on its body before it got slapped across the face by another poison tail.

"Grovyle, you can do this!" Niko shouted as seviper went in for a third poison tail. "Grab it!"

Grovyle reached out and halted the glowing purple stinger on the end of seviper's tail, cringing as it did so. It then opened its mouth and pelted seviper with bullet seeds while trying to regain its health with mega drain, although the latter attack proved to be far less successful.

"Seviper, use glare! Tropius, use aerial ace on grovyle!" Carly commanded. Niko, seeing the problems inherent in his opponent's strategy, told numel to hold off for a moment before continuing.

"Grovyle, leaf blade seviper!" Niko commanded, but quickly realized what the "glare" attack did. Grovyle was paralyzed! "Err…numel, use magnitude!"

Numel, although hesitant, shook the ground around the battlefield, which caught seviper off guard but managed to leave grovyle vulnerable for attack. Tropius dropped low to the ground and swiped at the wood gecko pokémon with its long leaf-like wing, knocking its opponent to the ground. Furious now, numel belted out a powerful flamethrower at tropius, enveloping it in fire. It then—in a rather uncharacteristic manner—ran over to headbutt tropius away and grab grovyle by the arm with its mouth, and dragged it away, placing it right in front of Niko.

The numb pokémon then turned its attention back to seviper and tropius, staring them down with a rage Niko hadn't seen since, well, he caught it back on the fiery path.

Capitalizing on this, Niko also felt fired up. "Numel! Let's show these two what you're made of! Use flamethrower!"

Numel opened its mouth and shot a stream of fire at tropius, who was still recovering from its burns. Seviper, meanwhile, managed to slither closer to numel and leap towards it from numel's right, its mouth open wide, revealing glowing purple fangs.

"Numel, watch out!" Niko shouted, but it was too late, seviper was nearly on its opponent when, out of nowhere, grovyle stepped in to take the hit. "Grovyle! What are you doing?"

The wood gecko collapsed against the right side of numel's body, the poison fang attack taking its toll. Numel, shocked by the turn of events, nuzzled grovyle's head before releasing a flamethrower at seviper, covering it in fire when the judge declared grovyle defeated.

"Return, grovyle. You did great buddy," Niko said, turning back to numel. "I have faith in you, numel. From when I first caught you I told you that I would make you stronger. And right now, I believe you are. So, let's show Carly and this whole damn stadium that you are! Numel, use flamethrower on tropius!"

Numel's body began to glow bright red as it unleashed a heavy stream of _blue fire_ from its mouth, enough to cause a thick cloud of steam to erupt from the hole atop its body. Tropius collapsed from contact with the blue fire. Shocked, Carly stammered as she tried to command seviper to attack, but before the poison snake pokémon could do so, numel turned its rage to it and unleashed one final flamethrower to defeat its second opponent.

Niko, thoroughly surprised by the passion expressed by numel, was nonetheless pleased to see it. Rarely did his numb pokémon exude any sort of interest in anything that wasn't sleeping, but this time it was different. Niko felt a genuine connection with the pokémon.

"Tropius and seviper are both unable to battle, numel and grovyle win! The victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!"

Niko crouched low to get level with numel. "Hey buddy, I'm really proud of you for standing up to those pokémon, and for protecting grovyle. Heh, you're more of a teammate than you think! Anyways, you did good, and showed me how strong you can really be. Let's keep building on that, okay?"

Numel nodded, maybe realizing what Niko said back near Fallarbor Town was true—that he really did want to make numel the strongest that it could be. Numel then, unexpectedly, nuzzled Niko's cheek affectionately.

"Alright buddy, let's go. You and grovyle need some rest," Niko said, pulling out numel's pokéball and returning it. He got up and walked up to the stands where he met his friends and family, all in awe at his numel's firepower.

"Niko, you saw that, right?" Fay asked. "That was _blue_ fire!"

"Yeah, I didn't expect it either. I guess numel was just passionate enough to push its own limits. And if you knew my numel, you'd see how surprising it _actually_ was."

Fay concurred after hearing stories of how Niko caught numel and its nonchalant and rather uncaring attitude since. After another battle finished, Niko realized he needed to go off to watch Melinda and Wally. Telling his friends and family quickly, he got up and sped out of the stands and into the hallway, making a break for another small stadium where both of his rivals were competing in back-to-back matches.

"What's with Niko?" His Dad asked. "He's suddenly so invested in seeing these other people battling."

"He's close with both of them, especially Wally," Brittany explained. "And, well, kind of with Melinda. Even though he hasn't seen much of them on our journey, he does have some connection to the both of them."

"I see. I just found it odd at first," He admitted, shrugging and continuing to watch the double battles. Jake asked for permission to go find Niko and sit with him, and under the guidance of Brittany, managed to do so.

Wally was up first against a young brunette girl from Fallarbor Town. He sent out his altaria and delcatty to face off against the girl's whiscash and loudred. At first, he had difficulty with loudred's sound-based moves, but quickly recovered when altaria's dragonbreath managed to temporarily stun it. Altaria moved in and defeated loudred while delcatty used assist and got lucky enough to use leech seed on whiscash.

While the whiskers pokémon was slowly losing its energy, altaria dove down for an aerial ace and accidentally cut the vines on the leech seed. Delcatty backed it up by using assist once more and getting dragonbreath, and both of Wally's pokémon proceeded to douse whiscash in dragonbreath, defeating it and granting Wally the win.

Niko pumped a fist in the air. He was happy that Wally kept moving up and was seemingly doing much better than expected. The green haired trainer joined Niko, Brittany, and Jake in the stands as they watched Melinda's match against a young schoolboy from Mossdeep City.

The schoolboy—whose name was Chad—sent out a machamp and wailmer to challenge Melinda's bellossom and armaldo. Niko recognized both of them as evolutions of pokémon he has battled before—oddish and anorith. Pulling out his pokédex, though, he began to learn more about these two:

" _Bellossom, the flower pokémon. Grass type. Its flower petals deepen in color through exposure to sunlight. When cloudy weather persists, it does a dance that is thought to be a ritual for summoning the sun_."

" _Armaldo, the plate pokémon. Rock and bug type. Armaldo usually lives on land. However, when it hunts for prey, it dives beneath the ocean. It swims around using its two large wings_."

Meanwhile, armaldo charged forward to use aerial ace on machamp while bellossom used sunny day to brighten up the sky. Machamp met armaldo with a cross chop, but the aerial ace hit first, knocking the superpower pokémon backwards and repelling its cross chop. Bellossom then unleashed a solarbeam on wailmer, who retaliated with hydro pump, leading to a stalemate.

"Bellossom, use petal dance!" Melinda commanded. The flower pokémon shifted left and right, summoning a twister of petals around wailmer. With a swift move of its arm, bellossom commanded the petals to hit wailmer, overwhelming the ball whale pokémon. While it was distracted, bellossom unleashed a second solarbeam, which defeated wailmer.

Armaldo, relatively, had difficulties with its chosen opponent. Machamp proved to be a capable fighter, unleashing a flurry of punches from its four massive arms at the plate pokémon. However, armaldo found itself with assistance from bellossom, who used a third solarbeam, hitting machamp in the side and causing it to collapse while armaldo finished it off with slash, causing the judge to declare armaldo, bellossom, and Melinda the victors of the match.

Niko clapped loudly for Melinda as she returned her pokémon and left the battlefield. Niko then stood up with Brittany, Wally, and Jake and went back to join his parents, JJ, and Fay in watching the last couple matches in their stadium.

"How'd it go, Niko?" JJ asked as they sat down.

"Great, both Wally and Melinda won their matches. Melinda, by the way, evolved her oddish and anorith."

"Oh, really?" Niko nodded, looking rather impressed.

"Yeah, that bellossom is a force of nature. It basically carried the two of them."

JJ raised an eyebrow. "So, there's pelipper, and now bellossom. Melinda has a strong team, dude."

"I know," Niko said, exasperated. He leaned back in his chair to think about it while watching the second round finish up. That's when everyone stood up and left the stadium for the day, since the third round wouldn't commence until the following day.

Niko spent the rest of the day with his group, Fay, and Wally, as the six trainers hung out outside near the edge of the lake. Grovyle and numel were sitting in the Pokémon Center resting from their battle, but Niko recounted their battle to his four other pokémon, all of whom showed surprised expressions when they heard what numel did, and cheered when Niko told them numel won by heating up his flamethrower to create blue fire. The recounting of the battle seemed to pump up the other four, all of whom were eager to get involved in the next battle.

* * *

"Welcome to the third day of the Ever Grande Pokémon Conference! I'm your host, Colton Goodshow, and today our contestants will compete in three-on-three pokémon battles to decide the Top 16!" President Goodshow announced in the main stadium. "And now, in our first match, we have Wally from Petalburg City against Harrison from Sootopolis City!"

Wally stood at one end while his opponent—a medium-sized, red-haired trainer opposed him on the other end of the battlefield. Wally started with his magneton, a surprise to Niko (and a welcome dose of nostalgia) while Harrison sent out combusken. The chick pokémon overpowered magneton quickly, but not without the magnet pokémon stunning combusken momentarily and landing a few spark attacks.

The green-haired trainer summoned his altaria next, which quickly disposed of combusken by using sing and then diving down to use aerial ace. In response, Harrison then sent out sealeo to combat altaria. The dragon pokémon managed to evade most of sealeo's ice ball attacks, but eventually fell to an ice beam to the wing, causing it to crash into the ground.

Panicked, Wally summoned his roselia, who took some heavy damage from ice beam before unleashing its leech seed/giga drain combination, which quickly disposed of sealeo, bringing both trainers down to a single pokémon. Harrison summoned his solrock which, through a series of flamethrowers and psychics managed to bring roselia to the edge of defeat until it used the same combination to restore some of its health and ultimately defeat it with magical leaf, granting Wally the win.

Niko pumped his fist in the air, realizing that Wally made it to the Top 16. _He did better than me the first time…_ Niko said with a smile. He was truly proud of the young trainer.

Next up was Melinda, who was in another stadium altogether, but still before Niko's, so he got a chance to watch it with his friends before heading into his own three-on-three battle. Melinda was facing a spiky-haired trainer named Nathan, who used a shiftry first against Melinda's pelipper. The water bird pokémon made quick work of it before moving on to Nathan's grumpig. The two proved to be an even match for one another, with pelipper using stockpile, swallow, and spit up before falling to a psychic from grumpig, while the latter fainted from over exhaustion and a spit up attack from pelipper.

It was the first time Niko saw pelipper defeated in a battle, as the only battles he saw from Melinda were usually against him. Nevertheless, Melinda summoned her raichu to challenge Nathan's hariyama, a rather large sumo-esque pokémon. Raichu proved to be agile enough to dodge most of hariyama's attacks, but ultimately fell when it used one too many volt tackles, therefore weakening it gradually, and accidentally slamming into the fighting type's arm thrust attack, rocketing it backwards into the stadium wall behind Melinda.

Down to one pokémon, Melinda hardly seemed concerned and, oddly enough, summoned a dark type—absol—to challenge the arm thrust pokémon. Not familiar with this pokémon, Niko pulled out his pokédex to get a better sense of what absol was like:

" _Absol, the disaster pokémon. Dark type. It sharply senses even subtle changes in the sky and the land to predict natural disasters. It is a long-lived pokémon that has a life-span of 100 years_."

"That's a really, err, unconventional choice of hers," JJ said, trying to understand her motives. It wasn't long before he realized it, though. Melinda's absol was terrifyingly fast. It landed two aerial aces before hariyama could react. Once it did, absol dodged its attempt at arm thrust and landed a faint attack, defeating the fight type pokémon and giving Melinda the victory, meaning that she, too, would be moving on to the Top 16.

Niko got out of his seat. He was next in the same small stadium. Wally, JJ, Brittany, and his family all wished him good luck as he disappeared into the hallway behind the stands. On his way, he saw Melinda talking with someone else. Quickly, he shifted away from her gaze (or, at least, he thought he did) and lightly jogged down the tunnel to his end of the battlefield.

His opponent was a young boy with slicked back blonde hair. He wore a navy blue suit and looked regal for his age. Once the judge allowed them to begin, Piers—Niko's opponent—summoned a swalot. Niko responded with manectric, realizing that he could likely beat the purple poison type with speed, not just brute force.

"Manectric, use howl and then quick attack!" Niko shouted, initiating the battle.

"Swalot, sludge bomb," Piers said in an uncaring tone. Noticing the poison spheres directed right at it, manectric ran forward, swiftly evading each one before slamming its body into swalot.

"Now, use spark!" Niko shouted. Still ramming into the poison bag's body, manectric's fur stood on edge as it released electricity in every direction. Swalot responded by opening its mouth wide and biting down on manectric's head.

"Swalot, use poison gas," Piers said lazily. Manectric—still inside swalot's body—howled out as it was hit in the head with the poison gas. Swalot then released it and unleashed a barrage of sludge bombs, sending the discharge pokémon hurtling several feet back.

"Manectric, can you get up?" Niko shouted, wishing he could do more to help his electric type. Manectric lay on the ground, the poison quickly taking its toll. Then Niko bit his finger before crying out. "Manectric, use thunder!"

Hearing its trainer, manectric stood back on its feet, albeit slowly, and took a couple moments to charge up electricity in its fur. Swalot fired more sludge bombs at it, but manectric stood completely still as it focused all of its remaining energy into a single attack. It then shot its head up and howled to the heavens, releasing every ounce of electricity in its body at the poison bag pokémon. Swalot cried out, the electricity running through its mouth to the rest of its body. It collapsed on its side, defeated.

"Swalot is unable to battle, manectric wins! Piers will send out his next pokémon."

"Nosepass, let's go," Piers said, once more without emotion. "Use rock slide."

"Manectric, use spark," Niko said in a normal tone, understanding how difficult it must be for his pokémon to function at this point. Manectric nodded, and released a relatively weak, but focused, spark of electricity at nosepass, which managed to be deflected by the rock slide that was hurtling towards the discharge pokémon. Manectric attempted to dodge, but nosepass hurled another rock at it, knocking it to the ground when the poison finally defeated it.

"Manectric is unable to battle, nosepass wins! Niko will send out his next pokémon."

"Grovyle, let's go!" Niko shouted. "Use leaf blade!"

"Nosepass, lock-on," Piers said lazily. Nosepass rotated itself slightly to face grovyle, who was rushing towards it quickly. "Now, zap cannon."

"Grovyle, jump into the air!" Niko shouted as a stream of electric energy shot from the center of nosepass' body. Grovyle shot into the air and somersaulted forwards, landing on its feet as the zap cannon finished. The wood gecko pokémon leapt through the air a second time before spinning and slamming its leaf blade on top of nosepass. "Now, mega drain!"

Grovyle jumped on top of nosepass and slammed the palms of its head onto the sides of nosepass' head. The hands began to glow bright green, and nosepass cried out quietly while its health was being drained. It jumped off and turned to face nosepass, who then began to fall asleep, using the move "rest" to heal itself.

Niko sighed. "Grovyle, while its asleep, pelt it with bullet seed!"

Grovyle turned to Niko and nodded before firing several rounds of seeds at nosepass' face from a close range. Then, on command, it shot forward and used leaf blade, putting an end to the compass pokémon.

"Nosepass is unable to battle, grovyle wins! Piers will now send out his final pokémon!"

"Ludicolo, you're up!" Piers shouted with an uncharacteristic passion.

"Grovyle, return," Niko said, choosing to substitute. "Glalie, you're up buddy!" The large floating ball of ice grinned upon its summon, wanting to hug Niko to show its thanks. Instead Niko pointed it towards the carefree pokémon, who bounced around on its end of the field dancing. "Glalie, use double team and icy wind!"

Glalie nodded, duplicating itself and then unleashing a gust of cold air in ludicolo's direction. It responded by running forward and, with its hand glowing, slammed it atop one of the duplicates.

"Ludicolo, brick break once more!" Piers shouted, seemingly fired up. Ludicolo repeated the move until one of them conjured a protective shield around itself, revealing itself to be the real glalie. "Now, use bullet seed!"

"Glalie, crunch!" Niko shouted. The face pokémon braced itself for the rapid-fire seeds and latched its teeth onto ludicolo's hat, tossing it to the side and proceeding to surround the carefree pokémon with double team. "Now, icy wind!"

Each of the duplicates belted out a cold gust at ludicolo, who responded by throwing down a water pulse onto the ground, freezing the water around it and creating a wall between itself and glalie. It wait for a moment until glalie floated over the frozen wave of water from the water pulse and charged forward to use crunch. Ludicolo responded with a brick break, and the force of the two attacks repelled both backwards.

"Ludicolo, use rain dance!" Piers shouted. The carefree pokémon danced around as a dark cloud formed above the battlefield, causing it to rain. "Now, brick break!"

Suddenly, ludicolo was noticeably faster. It was upon glalie faster than the face pokémon could act. It opted to use icy wind instead, which temporarily froze ludicolo, halting it in its tracks.

"Glalie, use crunch!" Niko shouted. The face pokémon rushed forward and brought its teeth down on ludicolo's hand, but it made the mistake of crunching the hand that used brick break. When the ice around ludicolo broke, brick break was still in effect, and the attack landed inside glalie's mouth, creating a small explosion inside glalie, causing it to repel backwards. Before it did, it used one final icy wind to hit ludicolo, causing it to collapse on its back as well.

"Ludicolo and glalie are both unable to battle! Since Niko still has one pokémon left, he is the victor!" The judge declared, eliciting an unkind response from Piers, who figured the battle was stolen from him. Niko simply shrugged, returning glalie to its pokéball and exiting the battlefield. As he did so, he ran into Melinda, who was clearly watching the battle.

"Hey, Niko!" She said excitedly. "Great battle!"

"Oh, thanks Melinda. Same to you. I've actually never seen your pelipper defeated, I don't think."

"Yeah, well it did pretty well before it was defeated. That's something to be proud of. But hey, Top 16! We both made it!"

"We did. It only gets harder from here, though," Niko said awkwardly.

"That's very true. I hope we get to battle each other eventually. Maybe we will next round!"

"Maybe…" Niko said, scratching his head. "Anyways, I'm going to catch up with my friends. See ya!"

"Bye Niko!"

Niko returned to the stands with his friends. After hearing congratulations from each of them, he sat down and continued to watch the last couple of battles before the round was completed. As custom, Goodshow announced the match-ups for the fourth round, which was the Top 16 trainers, all of which would battle in the main stadium.

After scanning for his name, he found it next to a familiar face. Turning to his left, he smiled at the same time Wally saw his own face next to Niko's.

"Well, looks like we get to have that battle, now," Niko said, holding out his hand.

"I'm really excited, Niko," Wally said, returning the handshake.

* * *

 **Author's note: Admittedly, the "blue flamethrower" did seem a bit odd, but it was that or eruption, and the blue fire seemed like a simpler choice, rather than give numel a new move. But I did like writing the bit about its growing relationship with Niko. Hope you enjoyed this rather long episode. Next time: the full six-on-six battle between Niko and Wally!**


	56. A battle among friends

**Episode 56: A battle among friends**

The group spent the following night relaxing by the lake's edge and talking. Niko also spent some time with his team of pokémon, telling them that they would all get a chance to compete in the next round against Wally. They all seemed pumped for the most part, but manectric in particular was still recovering from its fight with Piers' swalot. Niko took note of it, figuring he could rely more on the other five if he needed to.

Meanwhile, Brittany, JJ, and Fay were exchanging other stories from their journeys. Fay was especially interested in Pokémon Contests, and so Brittany spent some time explaining how they worked as well as some of the performances she and her pokémon did.

Niko looked up from his team and saw Jake walking by with mudkip, seedot, and trapinch around him. The older brother smiled as he welcomed Jake to sit down with him. "So, what do you think of the tournament so far?"

"It's been exciting, Niko!" Jake said, "Maybe as exciting as the Silver Conference last year!"

Niko laughed. "Yeah, maybe so bud. You think I can beat Wally?"

"Of course, Niko! Your team is really strong!"

"Well, thanks Jake. How are Mom and Dad doing?" He asked, looking around as if in search of them.

"They're up in their room resting and talking about the tournament. They're really impressed with your battling. It's gotten a lot better in their eyes."

Niko smiled, looking down at the grass. "That's good. I'm glad I'm making their trip out here worthwhile."

"It was going to be even if you lost in the first round, Niko," Jake explained. "They just wanted to see us again."

Niko nodded in agreement. Jake made a good point. His parents didn't care how far he made it in a Pokémon League. They just wanted him to be happy and enjoy his life. He turned to his pokémon. Grovyle and numel were laying against one another, with the former gazing up at the sky; Glalie was watching one of JJ's and Brittany's pokémon run around and play; swellow perched itself on aggron, who was sleeping while laying against a nearby tree. Manectric was also asleep, exhausted from the day's events.

"Looking at the stars, grovyle?" Niko asked, attracting the attention of the wood gecko. Grovyle leaned its head forwards, blinking at Niko a couple times before nodding. "Ever think about whether or not there's something out there. You know, besides Deoxys?"

Grovyle thought for a moment, and then nodded. Of all of the pokémon he caught in Hoenn, he felt the closest with grovyle. This is likely because it was his first pokémon here, but there was a connection he felt that didn't apply to, say, swellow, whom he caught just days after arriving in Hoenn. It wasn't a close friendship necessarily, like he had with aggron or manectric, but more of an understanding of one another, akin more to how he and venusaur felt. Except, of course, Niko was close friends with his venusaur, more so than any other pokémon he had caught.

Eventually, Niko got up and returned his team, signaling that he was ready to get back to his room. JJ, Brittany, Fay, and Jake all opted to stay outside for a while longer.

"Hey, Niko," Fay said, causing Niko to turn around. "Good luck, man."

"Thanks, Fay," Niko said before waving farewell.

* * *

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the fourth day of the Ever Grande Pokémon Conference! As always, I am your host, Colton Goodshow, and today we will begin with full battles between trainers who advanced to the Top 16! As per league rules, all full battles will be held in the main stadium. Once one trainer loses three of their pokémon, there will be a quick break, and the battle will resume."

President Goodshow then announced the first match, which was incidentally Melinda's. Niko watched intently as her full team managed to subdue most of her opponent's pokémon. She ultimately won with two pokémon remaining, and her bellossom and absol carrying most of the team. Niko watched another match before it was his and Wally's turn.

"Good luck Niko!" Brittany and JJ shouted. Fay nodded with a smile, and his parents wished him luck as well. Niko nodded and walked into the hallway and down the stairs to the tunnel from which he would enter his side of the battlefield.

"And now we have Niko from Pallet Town versus Wally from Petalburg City!" Goodshow announced. "We've seen some of the battles from each of these trainers, and it looks to be a promising match between supposed friends!"

The judge went through the rules to Niko and Wally, and then allowed them to begin whenever they felt ready. Niko looked across the field to his friend, who smirked back, a pokéball in his hand.

"Go, delcatty!"

"Numel, I choose you!" Niko shouted as he and Wally simultaneously summoned their first pokémon. "Numel, use flamethrower!"

"Delcatty, assist!" Wally commanded. The cat pokémon drew from a random move in Wally's team and then burst forward. It leapt over the flamethrower and towards numel, its front right paw glowing a bright purple. It slammed the attack onto numel's hump before flipping forward and landing behind the fire type.

 _What in the world was that?_ Niko thought, unfamiliar with the move. "Numel, use magnitude!"

"Delcatty, faint attack!" Wally commanded. Both attacks managed to land when delcatty struck with faint attack but was shaken to the core by the magnitude, which was apparently more powerful than usual. "Now, assist again!"

Delcatty nodded, drawing from another move. Unfortunately, it chose thunderbolt, which hardly affected numel, who retaliated with flamethrower, knocking delcatty backwards and inflicting a serious burn mark on its right side.

"Numel, growl and then magnitude again!" Niko commanded.

"Delcatty, faint attack!" Wally said, albeit nervously. The cat pokémon tried attacking once more, but the burn mark took its toll, and the faint attack was hardly effective this time. Niko then commanded numel to use a close-range flamethrower, which sent delcatty rocketing backwards across the field and landing in front of Wally, defeated.

"Delcatty is unable to battle, numel wins! Wally will send out his second pokémon!"

"Flygon, let's go!" Wally shouted, summoning an unfamiliar dragonfly-esque pokémon. "Dragonbreath!"

 _Dragon type, huh?_ Niko thought. "Numel, block it with flamethrower!" The two streams of fire collided in the middle of the battlefield before flygon shifted to the side and swooped down on numel, its claws glowing a bright purple.

"Flygon, dragon claw!" Wally shouted decisively. The mystic pokémon dove down and slashed at numel's sides before redirecting itself upwards again. Flygon turned around and belted out another dragonbreath, quickly subduing numel.

"Don't give in, numel!" Niko shouted, "You can do this! I believe in you, numel!"

The numb pokémon endured the dragonbreath before using magnitude in a fit of anger. Flygon flew around it curiously, waiting to see what it would do. As soon as it saw the dragon pokémon in its sights, numel opened fire, releasing a powerful flamethrower at flygon. The attack landed successfully, knocking flygon to the ground where it endured yet another flamethrower.

"Great job, numel!" Niko cheered before seeing flygon get back up quickly. That's when Niko realized it was hardly effected by the flamethrower.

"Flygon, dragon claw again!" Wally commanded, this time crying it out. The mystic pokémon charged forward, its claws glowing a bright purple color as they began to grow. Once it was upon numel, flygon slashed its claws at the numb pokémon's sides, knocking it off its feet and to the ground.

"Numel is unable to battle, flygon wins!" The judge declared.

"Return, numel," Niko said solemnly. "I'm really proud of you. Glalie, I choose you!"

"Flygon, use flamethrower!" Wally shouted, surprising Niko.

"Protect!" Niko commanded. "And then double team!"

Glalie nodded, conjuring a protective shield around itself before duplicating its form, creating half a dozen copies. Niko then commanded it use icy wind.

"Flamethrower to block it!" Wally shouted once more. The flamethrower succeeded in not just warming up the icy wind, turning it into gusts of steam, but also eliminating the copies from double team. However, glalie flew close to flygon while it was distracted and bit on its tail with crunch, per Niko's command. The mystic pokémon wailed out in pain, turning around and slashing glalie's left eye with dragon claw. Glalie let go, but not before blowing icy wind in flygon's face, knocking the dragon type to the ground as well.

"Glalie, now's our chance! Let's show Wally what you can do! Ice beam!"

The face pokémon nodded, opening its mouth and unleashing a stream of icy energy at flygon, who managed to evade the attack and shoot a flamethrower back. Fortunately, glalie used protect at the last moment.

"Glalie, ice beam again!" Niko shouted. Wally and flygon countered with flamethrower, and once again nearly hit glalie, who managed to once again barely escape. _I need to get closer to flygon…but with flamethrower and dragon claw, that's going to make it difficult_. "Glalie, rush forward at flygon as if you were using headbutt!"

Glalie nodded and charged at flygon. As expected, the mystic pokémon unleashed a steady flamethrower, to which Niko commanded glalie use protect while still moving forward. Once it was up close, glalie ducked under the flamethrower and released an ice beam quickly, hitting flygon's torso and causing it stumble out of the air, ending the flamethrower in the process.

"Glalie, finish it off with ice beam!" Niko shouted. The face pokémon hit flygon once more with ice beam, knocking it to the ground and defeated it.

"Flygon is unable to battle, glalie wins! Wally will send out his third pokémon!" The judge declared.

"Glalie, you return as well," Niko said. "You did a great job buddy," He pulled out another pokéball as Wally pulled out his own. "Swellow, let's go!"

"Gallade, I choose you!" Wally shouted.

 _Gallade?_ Niko asked, but upon seeing the pokémon, realized it must be ralts' final evolution. Curious, Jake and JJ tried looking gallade up in the pokédex, but didn't get anything.

"Is gallade not from this region?" Brittany asked, remembering when Fay went up against tyranitar in the Indigo League. Coincidentally, it was Fay who nodded.

"Exactly. Gallade is usually found in the Sinnoh region. But it evolves from Kirlia by stone evolution. Wally must have just come across the stone needed to evolve it."

"Alright swellow, we've never seen this kind of pokémon before, but it might be like ralts, so just be careful, alright?" Swellow nodded in agreement, carefully watching gallade.

"You're right, Niko," Wally shouted across the field. "It's the ralts that you helped me catch back in Petalburg City!" He seemed rather pleased with himself.

"Good on you, Wally," Niko said, smirking. "Swellow, use aerial ace!"

"Gallade, psycho cut!" Wally commanded. Swellow dove down at the blade pokémon, whose glowing purple blades collided with swellow's wing, knocking it to the ground. "Now, swords dance!" Gallade then conjured swords around its body, and its own arm blades began to glow a bit. "Now, slash!"

"Swellow, dodge with double team!" Niko shouted, but the gallade was too fast. It swiped at swellow, knocking it back into the ground. _That gallade is tough…but do I even have the advantage? Is gallade just a psychic type?_ " He pondered this as swellow tried to get back into the air. It narrowly evaded gallade's psycho cut, and grabbed onto one of the blades before leaning downwards and launching an aerial ace closeup from its one-talon perch on the arm. Gallade stumbled backwards before regaining its composure.

"Gallade, psycho cut again!" Wally shouted. Before swellow could regain its own composure, gallade charged forward and slashed at swellow once more, this time sending it hurtling across the battlefield, defeated.

"Swellow is unable to battle, gallade wins! Niko will send out his next pokémon!" The judge declared.

"Return, swellow. You did a great job, now we have a sense of how fast this thing is," Niko said, looking back up at gallade, who was also returned to its pokéball. "Manectric, you're up!"

"Roselia, I choose you!" Wally shouted. "Magical leaf!"

"Manectric, quick attack and spark combined!" Niko shouted. The discharge pokémon launched forward, swerving around each attack before slamming its electrically-charged body into roselia, knocking the rose pokémon backwards. "Now, use thunder!"

While manectric was generating the electricity necessary for thunder, roselia launched leech seed, covering its opponent in vines. "Now, giga drain!" Wally commanded. Manectric howled in pain as the leech seed consumed its energy. Luckily, it didn't last long, for manectric unleashed thunder, breaking the leech seed and shocking roselia.

Both roselia and manectric were exhausted, and their battle had just begun. Niko commanded another quick attack, but it landed manectric in yet another leech seed/giga drain combination that continued to sap the discharge pokémon of its energy. It nevertheless landed its attack, but collapsed onto the ground.

"Manectric, thunder once more!"

"Roselia, magical leaf!"

Manectric howled to the heavens as a powerful bolt of lightning shot from its body towards roselia, shooting it into the wall on the side of the stadium, preventing it from using magical leaf. For a minute, it sat there until Niko realized it was paralyzed.

"Manectric, now's your chance! Use quick attack and spark!" Niko shouted. Manectric rushed forward, its body charging up with electricity, and slammed its body into roselia, creating a couple cracks in the wall. But the leech seed still sapped some of its energy, causing the lighting wolf to wince a little.

Eventually, roselia recovered from its paralysis and shot a barrage of magical leaves at manectric, knocking it backwards, the leech seed once again sapping its strength.

"Roselia, finish it off with giga drain!" Wally shouted. Roselia held both of its rose-arms outwards and quickly sapped what was left of manectric's energy, causing the discharge pokémon to collapse onto the ground, defeated.

"Manectric is unable to battle, roselia wins! Since Wally has now defeated three pokémon, we will pause for a quick break!"

"Return, manectric. You did good, buddy," Niko said, looking up at Wally, wondering if he can pull it back and win the match.

* * *

"And we're back folks!" President Goodshow announced. "Previously, we saw the first half of the match between Niko from Pallet Town and Wally from Petalburg City! So far, Wally has defeated three of the five pokémon Niko has sent out, while Niko has defeated two of the four pokémon Wally has sent out! Let's see if Niko is able to pull it around, or if Wally will continue on this path to advance to the Top 8!"

"Roselia, you're up!" Wally shouted.

"Grovyle, I choose you!" Niko commanded. _Manectric weakened it enough, I think grovyle can finish it off with speed_. "Use leaf blade!"

"Magical leaf!" Wally shouted. Grovyle surged forward, slashing at the leaves with leaf blade. It got dangerously close to roselia before the latter pokémon launched a leech seed at it.

"Cut it!" Niko shouted. Grovyle brought down its left arm blade and cut the seed in half before bringing its right blade across roselia's body, knocking the pokémon to the ground. "Now, bullet seed!"

"Roselia…leech seed!" Wally shouted. The two pokémon exchanged attacks, and eventually grovyle was caught in the leech seed. "Now, giga drain!"

"Leaf blade!" Niko shouted. The wood gecko slashed with its arm blades, but not at roselia—at itself! It cut the leech seed apart before giga drain took effect, and them brought down its leaf blade on roselia, knocking it back into the ground. "Finish it off with bullet seed!"

"Roselia is unable to battle, grovyle wins!" The judge declared.

"Return, roselia," Wally said as Niko returned grovyle. "I should have expected as much from grovyle, Niko! It's one of your strongest pokémon," He then pulled out another pokéball. "Altaria, you're up!"

"One of them," Niko said with a wink. "Glalie, let's go!"

"Altaria, dragon dance!" Wally commanded. A purple aura surrounded the humming pokémon while Glalie launched an ice beam at it, knocking it backwards. Wally smirked, clearly with something in mind. "Altaria, perish song!"

 _What?_ Niko asked himself. The humming pokémon belted out a terrifyingly beautiful song. Glalie turned to its trainer in confusion, but Niko simply shrugged. He had no idea what perish song did. "Let's just see if we can beat altaria! Use ice beam!"

"Altaria, dragonbreath!" Wally shouted out. Both attacks collided in the center of the field. Glalie then released its own ice beam and used protect to block the second round of dragonbreath. "Now, use aerial ace!"

"Glalie, ice beam!" Niko shouted. The dragon pokémon dove towards glalie. As both attacks collided, both pokémon fell to the ground, defeated.

"Glalie and altaria are both unable to battle! Niko and Wally will now send out their next pokémon!"

"Return, glalie," Niko said, confused. _Is that what perish song does? Sets a timer on a pokémon's defeat? Did it effect both altaria_ and _glalie, or just glalie?_ Niko continued to ponder this as he picked out his next pokémon. "Aggron, you're up!"

"Magneton, I choose you!" Wally shouted. "Use screech!"

"Aggron, dig!" Niko shouted in an attempt to shield aggron from the screech attack. It nearly succeeded, as the iron armor pokémon was almost through digging a hole in the ground before it heard the attack. Moments later the massive steel pokémon shot out of the ground under magneton and slammed into it with the full weight of its body, launching the magnet pokémon into the air.

"Magneton, thunderbolt!" Wally commanded.

"Aggron, deflect it with iron head!" Niko shouted. While the two exchanged moves, Niko realized this was the first official battle aggron was in, and he was pleased by its ability to move slightly faster than it did as a lairon. "Now, iron tail!" Aggron had previously knocked magneton into the ground with iron head and proceeded to slap it around the battlefield with iron tail. Unfortunately, despite the sheer power aggron was putting into the attack, it wasn't doing much damage to the fellow steel type magneton.

"Magneton, screech!"

"Aggron, iron head!" Niko shouted in another attempt to block out the sound. It seemed to until aggron had to halt its advances and plug its ears, wherever those were.

"Supersonic!" Wally commanded.

"Proceed with iron head, full power!" Niko shouted. Aggron charged forward with an incredible amount of force behind it, breaking through the supersonic and colliding head-first with magneton. The electric type shot backwards, nearly hitting Wally, and slammed into the wall behind him. Slowly, it peeled off of the wall and collapsed onto the ground, defeated.

"Magneton is unable to battle, aggron wins! Wally will now send out his final pokémon!" The judge declared.

 _Great, so it's just gallade, and I've already done some damage to it. If aggron stays in long enough, grovyle might not have to do much._ "Alright aggron, let's wins this!" Aggron yelled out victoriously, smiling as it turned back to look at Niko, who gave it a thumbs-up.

"Gallade, let's go!" Wally commanded. "Use swords dance!"

"Aggron, iron head!" Niko shouted. The iron armor pokémon rushed forward towards gallade. As it lowered its head to collide with gallade's, the blade pokémon lifted both of its arms into an "X" shape to halt aggron with an unusual amount of strength.

"Gallade, psycho cut!" Wally shouted. The blades, holding off aggron's light gray steel-plated helmet, turned a bright purple color, giving gallade the energy it needed to push aggron backwards, using the psychic energy imbued in its attack. "Now, swords dance again!"

"Aggron, iron tail!" Niko shouted. The iron armor pokémon rushed forward again. Once it was close enough, it spun around and tried slamming its long, glowing gray tail at gallade.

"Psycho cut!" Wally commanded once again. Once again, the psychic blades met with aggron's attack, blocking it and eventually gathering up enough energy to repel it. "Now, use close combat!"

 _What?_ Niko asked himself. Gallade rushed forward, aggressively slashing and kicking at aggron with supernatural speed and force. Aggron was then knocked backwards by a powerful kick to the gut from gallade, forcing it on its back.

"Finish aggron off with psycho cut!" Wally shouted, thrusting a fist outwards. Gallade's left blade started glowing purple before it slammed it into aggron's torso, effectively defeating the iron armor pokémon.

"Aggron is unable to battle, gallade wins! Niko will now send out his final pokémon!" The judge declared.

 _That gallade is so fast…_ Niko thought to himself. _I guess grovyle is the natural—and only—choice now. If swellow wasn't fast enough, will grovyle be?_ "Grovyle, I choose you!" Niko shouted. "Bullet seed!"

The moment the wood gecko emerged from its pokéball it unleashed a flurry of glowing seeds at gallade, who was caught off guard. The blade pokémon, regaining its composure, started to slash away the seeds using psycho cut before launching forward with its psychic-infused blades.

"Grovyle, use leaf blade!" Niko shouted. _If it's a sword fight he wants, it's a sword fight he'll get_. Grovyle and gallade met in the middle of the field and made several attempts to slash at one another, but each attack was usually parried by the other. "Keep it up, grovyle!" Niko shouted out. "You're faster than gallade, I _know_ you are!"

Hearing this, grovyle began striking faster and faster at gallade, eventually striking it in the side and sending it into the ground. Grovyle stood over gallade, blades still glowing a bright green color. Gallade was about to use its own psycho cut, but grovyle batted it away with leaf blade. In this moment, Niko felt exactly what grovyle did—powerful, victorious. He felt on top of the world.

That's when grovyle began to start glowing a bright white color, and began to grow to nearly Niko's height. It lost one of the leaves on its arm, leaving only two blades that grew at close to a 90-degree angle from the arm. It lost the leaf growing out of its head, but its tail grew to a massive size, looking more like leaves from a palm tree. There were small yellow spheres running down its back, two at a time. Niko pulled out his pokédex while Wally stood there awestruck at the evolution:

" _Sceptile, the forest pokémon. Grass type. In the jungle, its power is without equal. This pokémon carefully grows trees and plants. It regulates its body temperature by basking in sunlight_."

"Alright sceptile, let's go in for the win! Use leaf blade!" Niko shouted out. During the evolution of its opponent, gallade managed to get back up and waited until it was finished before it could resume the battle. Its psycho cut ready, the two continued their battle, swiping at one another with a swirl of purple and green blades. Niko and Wally both watched anxiously to see who might fall first.

That's when gallade struck sceptile in the torso, knocking it backwards and causing it to stumble onto its back. Gallade rushed forward and was about to deliver a powerful slash attack when Niko cried out: "Sceptile, bullet seed!" The forest pokémon unleashed a flurry of seeds at gallade, who also stumbled backwards, trying to cover its face with its blades as sceptile got up slowly and continued its onslaught.

"Gallade, fight through it! Use close combat to cut through the seeds!" Wally commanded. Gallade attempted to do so, but the bullet seed wasn't letting up. Sceptile then end the attack and rushed forward.

"Sceptile, LEAF BLADE!" Niko shouted out, thrusting his hand forward. Sceptile charged at gallade before it spun around and, with its arm-blades glowing a bright green color, slashed at the blade pokémon while it tried blocking with psycho cut. Sceptile then appeared on the other side. Once its blades began to return to their normal state, the forest pokémon stood straight up and turned around.

There gallade was, doubled over before it collapsed face-first into the ground.

"Gallade is unable to battle, sceptile wins! The victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!"

Wally rushed over to gallade's aid, picking it up and throwing one of its arms over his shoulder. Niko joined them and sceptile in the middle of the field. He immediately held out his hand to Wally.

"I'm really proud of you, Wally," Niko said with a sincere smile. Wally, a little surprised, looked up at Niko and nodded, a single tear showing up on his eyelid.

"Thanks, Niko," He simply said, returning the handshake. Nothing more was said between the two.

* * *

Niko said down in the lobby after taking his pokémon to the pokémon center for healing. They made it to the Top 8, and would need all of their energy for the next round. Brittany, JJ, Jake, Fay, and his parents all sat around him in the lobby couches as he leaned back and stared at the ceiling.

"How're you feeling, bud?" His Dad asked.

"Good. Really good," Niko responded curtly. "I'm glad I got to battle Wally. Even if I lost, that's the experience I wanted to have."

"I'm happy to hear that," Dad said, patting his son on the back. "He seems like a good kid."

"He really is, Dad. You have no idea," Niko said, looking his father in the eyes. "Anyways, they're about to announce the next round, I think," Niko said as he pointed to a monitor nearby.

"And there we have it, folks!" President Goodshow announced. "Here are the final 8 contestants in the Ever Grande Conference!" Niko saw his and Melinda's faces alongside six other trainers. "And now, we will randomly pair the trainers for their battle tomorrow morning," Once again the eight faces randomly spun around, collecting themselves into four pairings. Niko then noticed that, once again, he was paired with a familiar face: Melinda.

He leaned back in his chair, already feeling exhausted about his next match. But he wasn't surprised. Like facing Fay, it felt inevitable that he would be up against Melinda now.

"Well then," JJ said, turning to Niko. "That will be interesting to watch!"

"I sure hope so," Niko said, staring once more at the ceiling.

That evening he sat down at the edge of the lake with Fay. The others were already asleep, but Niko couldn't, and so Fay decided to join him.

"So, how _are_ you?" Fay asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you seem pretty confident in yourself recently. I like seeing it, but I was just wondering if anything has been stressing you out."

Niko shook his head. "Not really."

"Not even being in the Top 8 again?"

"Again, hah!" Niko said, remembering his battle with Elliot over a year ago. "That seems so long ago…doesn't it?"

"Time flies when you're having fun," Fay quipped. "Man, it's so crazy."

"What is?"

"How far we've all come. It seems like only yesterday you, me, and JJ set off on our journey, and met Brittany. And look at you now! You're a far better battler than you were even a year ago! Brittany is finding her way, and JJ…well, JJ hasn't changed much, but you get my point."

"Yeah, it's hard to believe. And I'm not about to end it anytime soon."

"Not even if you win the whole tournament?"

"Not even then," Niko said, "That's not my end game. At least, it isn't right now."

"Then what is?"

"I don't really know, to be honest," Niko fell back on the grass and laid his hands over his stomach. "I just want to keep travelling and meeting new people and pokémon. That's what made this journey worth it, not just the victories."

"I see what you mean, man," Fay said. "Well, we should both get back to bed. You've got a big day tomorrow."

"Yeah, it's gonna be a long battle," Niko said, getting up and slowly walking back to the dormitory he was staying in.


	57. Flight of the Water Bird

**Episode 57: Flight of the Water Bird**

Niko sat in the stands while he watched the first two Top 8 matches, as he and Melinda were going third. It was the final day of the Ever Grande Conference, when the champion would be decided and get an opportunity to compete in the Champion's League. Niko didn't notice it at the time, but Steven and Wallace—ex-champion and current champion—had been intently watching Niko's matches up until this point from the perspective of Goodshow's box up in the stands.

"You think he's got a chance to win the whole thing?" Wallace asked. "You know him better."

Steven looked at the battlefield thoughtfully, completely ignoring the battle between a swampert and camerupt. "No. Not yet."

"Why is that?"

"He still has a lot to learn about and more experience to grow from. He's got a talent for this, but it won't be enough to win the Ever Grande Conference, that's for sure."

"Think he will proceed to the semifinals?" Wallace asked.

"Possibly. Judging from Melinda's battling as well, it'll be a tough fight. Niko's grovyle evolving will help, I think."

"I'm certainly excited to see those two," Wallace commented. Steven nodded in concurrence.

"Aaand now, for our third quarterfinal matchup, we have Niko from Pallet Town and Melinda from Littleroot Town!"

Niko approached his end of the stage to face Melinda, the black-haired, glasses-wearing, beautiful woman that he met early in his journey through Hoenn. The woman who rejected his feelings, but all the same remained his friend. Niko didn't feel as confident about winning against Melinda as he did against Wally, but that's likely because the outcome didn't matter to him for the latter battle. She nodded with a decisive look on her face. Niko knew that look. It was the look that first defined her in his eyes. Her clouded background, her unfamiliarity with the gym challenge but very familiar with the concept of battling. He pulled out his first pokéball, sure of his choice. Melinda did the same while the judge was explaining the rules: same as before.

"Numel, I choose you!"

"Exploud, let's go!" Melinda shouted, "Use screech!"

"Numel, magnitude to drown out the sound!" Niko commanded. Numel aggressively shook the ground around the battlefield, causing exploud to falter slightly. "Now, flamethrower!"

"Hyper beam, exploud!" Melinda commanded. The two attacks collided in the middle of the field, but eventually exploud's ran out, forcing it to take time to recharge its energy.

"Numel, flamethrower once more!" Niko commanded. Numel released another stream of fire at the loud noise pokémon, who tried to dodge it but wasn't fast enough. "Now, magnitude once more!"

Exploud stumbled a bit from the shaking ground before falling on its side. It endured yet another round of flamethrower before getting back up and using hyper voice. The ear-piercing noise causing numel to cry out, the attack too much for it.

"Numel…" Niko shouted, holding on to his own ears. "USE FLAMETHROWER!"

Numel, through the pain, began to glow faintly before releasing a thick cloud of steam from the hump on its back. It then belted out the same blue flame from its double battle with grovyle. The attack met exploud's hyper beam once more, but quickly overpowered it and hit exploud directly in the face, leaving several burn marks before the loud noise pokémon collapsed on its back, defeated.

"Exploud is unable to battle, numel wins! Melinda will send out her second pokémon!"

"Numel, return as well," Niko commanded, pulling out another pokémon. He waited for Melinda to summon hers, and then summoned his own.

"Bellossom, you're up!"

"Swellow, let's go!" Niko shouted, pleased that he managed to choose something with a type advantage. "Use aerial ace!"

"Bellossom, sunny day!" Melinda commanded. Swellow then dove down at the flower pokémon, slashing at its relatively small body before swooping back into the air and waiting for its next command. Bellossom then unleashed a solarbeam, hitting the swallow pokémon unexpectedly and sending it crashing into the ground.

"Swellow, can you get up?" Niko asked as another solarbeam launched in their direction. Swellow fortunately managed to dodge it, getting back into the air as bellossom launched a _third_ solarbeam. "Double team!"

Swellow duplicated itself several times, allowing the solarbeam to pass through it by hitting a copy. The real swellow then dove down and used aerial ace. Bellossom attempted to use stun spore, but it was too late: the flying type had landed, sending the flower pokémon rolling across the battlefield.

"Swellow, finish it off with quick attack and wing attack!" Niko shouted, pointing a finger to the sky. Swellow nodded and shot into the air with quick attack before turning back around and dive-bombing bellossom, who managed to release a solarbeam. "Run right through it!" Niko cried out, with the feeling that the risk might outweigh the reward. Swellow crashed into bellossom after breaking through the solarbeam, severely injuring itself but defeating bellossom in return.

"Bellossom is unable to battle, swellow wins! Melinda will send out her third pokémon!" The judge declared.

"Pelipper, I choose you!" Melinda commanded. "Hydro pump on swellow!"

"Swellow, dodge and use aerial ace!" Niko commanded. The swallow, damaged from its risky move to defeat bellossom, nodded and dodged the heavy stream of water before slamming into the pelican pokémon. It hit pelipper a few more times, all the while Melinda was asking it to use stockpile. Pelipper began to charge up energy in its beak while swellow wailed on it with aerial ace.

"Pelipper, use swallow!" Melinda commanded. Pelipper then absorbed the power it stockpiled, resulting in it regaining its health back. "Now, hydro pump!"

The water bird pokémon released a strong blast of water at swellow, who was much slower due to its now-weakened state, and took the hit, resulting in it crashing into the ground next to Niko.

"Stockpile!" Melinda repeated.

"Swellow, can you get up?" Niko asked urgently. The swallow pokémon nodded before getting back into the air. "Great, let's use wing attack!"

"Pelipper, stockpile again…" Melinda said cautiously. The pelican pokémon nodded, charging up more power. Swellow then rushed forward. As it was about to make contact with its opponent, Melinda and pelipper struck. "Use spit up!"

Pelipper tossed out the energy it was charging up moments before swellow struck it with wing attack. The energy was overwhelming enough to cause swellow to fall directly into the ground below, defeated.

"Swellow is unable to battle, pelipper wins! Niko will send out his next pokémon!" The judge declared.

"Return, swellow. You did great. Aggron, you're up!"

"Pelipper, return," Melinda said in an odd move. "Armaldo, let's go! Use water pulse!"

"Aggron, iron head!" Niko shouted, throwing his hand out in a gesture. The iron armor pokémon thrust its body forward, wincing at the explosion of water surrounding it, but nonetheless charged forward. It slammed into armaldo, who braced itself with metal claw, which seemed to reduce the impact of the attack. "Now, iron tail!"

"Grab it with metal claw!" Melinda commanded. Armaldo did so, once more reducing the impact of the steel type attack. "Now, water pulse!"

"Aggron, harden!" Niko shouted, but it hardly seemed to work. The glowing orb of water collided with aggron's chest, knocking it back a few feet and causing it to momentarily stumble. "You got this, buddy, I believe in you," Niko said calmly. "Now, use iron head!"

"Armaldo, rock blast!" Melinda commanded. The attack seemed to slow aggron down slightly, but it didn't seem to halt it advances in the least. The iron armor pokémon struck armaldo with iron head, knocking it onto its back. "Water pulse!"

"Iron tail!" Niko shouted. The water attack hit first, but aggron braved through it and slammed armaldo in the side with iron tail, knocking it out.

"Armaldo is unable to battle, aggron wins!" The judge declared. "Since Niko has now defeated three of Melinda's pokémon, we will stop for a short break."

Niko took a deep sigh of relief. All was going well. He lost one pokémon to Melinda's three. He walked over to aggron and caressed the steel type's headpiece and shoulder.

"You're doing good, aggron, keep it up," Niko said with a smile. Aggron smiled back, growling a little. Niko then turned to look into the stands. His friends were nodding and giving their thumbs-up, indicating that he was doing as well as he thought he was.

"Aaand we're back!" President Goodshow announced. "Last time, we were halfway through the quarterfinal matchup between Niko and Melinda. Niko has so far defeated three of Melinda's pokémon, and she had defeated only _one_ of Niko's! The match seems heavily skewed in Niko's favor right now. Can he maintain it?"

"Aggron, let's keep going," Niko said, confident in his pokémon's abilities.

"Absol, you're up!" Melinda commanded. "Use swords dance!"

"Aggron, iron head!" Niko commanded, thrusting his arm to the side as a gesture. The iron armor pokémon rushed forward, its sights set on the disaster pokémon. However, Melinda seemed to have some more tricks up here sleeve.

"Double team!" She shouted decisively. The dark type duplicated itself several times before aggron collided with it. Unfortunately, aggron didn't hit the correct one, but tried to once more with iron tail. It missed again, all while absol was using swords dance. This dance continued, with aggron trying to hit absol, but it kept using double team to confuse the iron armor pokémon.

"Aggron, focus…" Niko said calmly. "You can do this. You just need to hit it once. Let's not rampage around. Stop and watch absol."

Aggron stopped, and the duplicates suddenly disappeared, leaving absol on the steel type's left side. Aggron turned around, only to see the disaster pokémon charge at it.

"Iron head!" Niko shouted. Aggron, fortunately, was able to lower its head to strike absol, catching the dark type in its horns and flinging it into the air. "Great job, aggron!"

"Absol, faint attack!" Melinda shouted. Aggron turned around, but all it saw was absol slash its paw against the iron armor's face, knocking it backwards and onto its back. "Now, aerial ace!"

Absol struck once more, landing a flurry of aerial aces and faint attacks with lightning fast reflexes. Aggron was unable to keep up with it, as it was unable to get back on its feet. It fainted while still on its back, defeated by another aerial ace.

"Aggron is unable to battle, absol wins!" The judge declared.

"What…" JJ said, confused. "Absol should have no advantage against aggron. Aggron is a rock and steel type, none of absol's attacks should have done much damage."

"But notice how it kept using swords dance," Fay pointed out. "That move increases absol's attack power. All it needed to do was distract aggron while it used swords dance, and double team seemed to do the trick. Then once it subdued aggron all it needed to do was hit it mercilessly, thus doing damage slowly over time. In the end, it all added up."

"Aggron, return," Niko said. "You did great buddy. Well done. Sceptile, let's go!"

"Ah, your sceptile!" Melinda said with a smile. "This should be fun. Absol, aerial ace!"

"Block it with leaf blade!" Niko shouted. The disaster pokémon launched itself across the battlefield in a single bound, the curved horn on its head glowing white as it smashed it down upon sceptile, who managed to block it at the last second with leaf blade. "Bullet seed!" While holding absol in place, sceptile opened its maw and released a barrage of glowing green seeds at absol, knocking it backwards.

"Absol, faint attack!" Melinda shouted. Sceptile had difficulty dodging this one, choosing to take the hit, which then allowed it to smack absol with leaf blade, knocking it off of its feet and onto its side.

"Sceptile, finish it off with another round of leaf blades!" Niko shouted decisively. The forest pokémon landed another leaf blade into absol's side. Before the dark type could get back up and deliver another aerial ace, sceptile slashed at it one final time with leaf blade, knocking it out.

"Absol is unable to battle, sceptile wins!" The judge declared.

"Sceptile, return," Niko said. _I'm not doing too bad, actually. She only has two pokémon left—raichu and pelipper. I can beat them, I think._

"Raichu, you're up!" Melinda commanded.

"Alright then. Numel, I choose you!" Niko shouted. "Use flamethrower!"

"Raichu, quick attack and iron tail!" Melinda commanded. The mouse pokémon launched forward, running at lightning speed before leaping into the air and slamming an iron tail on numel's back. The numb pokémon winced a little.

"Magnitude!" Niko shouted. Numel obliged, aggressively shaking the ground under raichu, who found it difficult to maintain balance. Melinda then held out its pokéball once more.

"Return, raichu," She said. "That wasn't a battle you could have won. Pelipper, let's go!"

"Numel, do you want to continue fighting?" Niko asked. The fire type turned to its trainer and nodded, realizing that it wasn't at an advantage anymore. "Got it. Let's go then. Numel, use flamethrower, _full power_!"

"Pelipper, hydro pump!" Melinda said, smirking. Numel's hump erupted with steam as it released the blue fire from its mouth to combat the hydro pump. Colliding in mid-field, the two attacks created a thick cloud of steam that covered the battlefield but ultimately, due to the power of flamethrower, numel was able to land its attack on pelipper.

However, they still couldn't see. "Numel, use flamethrower in the same direction, alright?" Niko said calmly, trying to figure out where pelipper was, and hoping that it was in the same spot. _No, Melinda isn't stupid. Pelipper is going to move—yeah, there it is_. Niko said as pelipper descended from the dissipating cloud of steam to use hydro pump up close on an unsuspecting numel, who had already taken damage from exploud and raichu. Numel tried to brace itself for the impact of the attack, but the blast of water was too much, and numel collapsed on the ground, defeated.

"Numel is unable to battle, pelipper wins!" The judge declared.

"Alright then," Niko said, sighing. "Numel, return. You did great, and thank you for stepping up there. Sceptile, you're up!"

"Just like our first match ever, Niko!" Melinda said excitedly. "I've looked forward to this. Pelipper, use stockpile!"

"Sceptile, bullet seed!"

"Just keep stockpiling, pelipper. You can do it!" Melinda shouted happily. Niko noticed her cheerfulness, and felt happy as well. He enjoyed seeing her smile, and if this battle was going to do that, Niko would continue battling.

"Sceptile, rush forward and use leaf blade!" Niko demanded, throwing his hand outwards in a gesture. The forest pokémon nodded, running towards its airborne opponent. "Now…jump!"

Sceptile leapt into the air, its arm-blades glowing green as it spun through the space between it and pelipper and slammed its blades across the pelican's beak, knocking it backwards.

"Pelipper, use spit up!" Melinda shouted. The water bird pokémon released the power it charged up and tossed it downwards onto sceptile, who crashed back into the ground under the weight of the attack. "Now, hydro pump!"

"Bullet seed!" Niko shouted. Unfortunately, the bullet seed hardly did anything, since the heavy stream of water was far more powerful than some glowing seeds. Sceptile was kept pressed to the ground as long as hydro pump went on. When pelipper finished with the move, the forest pokémon slowly got back onto its feet while the pelican began stockpiling once more. "Now's our chance, sceptile! Use bullet seed!"

"Swallow!" Melinda commanded. Pelipper then began to glow a faint white color, recovering from the damage it had recently taken. "Now, use hydro pump!"

Once more pelipper disrupted sceptile's attack with the powerful water move, propelling it back into the ground. Pelipper then, out of character, dove down at sceptile to use hydro pump once more, this time at a close range. Sceptile rolled to the side to dodge the move successfully, but it didn't help much. It used bullet seed once more, which seemed to hit pelipper, but didn't do enough damage. It then went in for a leaf blade, but was put down instantly by pelipper's hydro pump, this time defeating it.

"Sceptile is unable to battle, pelipper wins!" The judge declared.

 _She managed to even out the match with just her pelipper. Well, at least I know what she has now. That pelipper_ must _be tired._ Niko thought to himself. "Alright manectric, let's go!" Niko shouted, summoning the discharge pokémon. "Use shock wave!"

"Pelipper, stockpile!" Melinda said calmly. Once the shock wave landed, electrocuting the pelican with a series of blue lightning bolts, Melinda commanded it to use swallow to heal itself once more. "Now, stockpile again!"

"Manectric, we can end this quickly. Use thunder, _full power_!" Niko shouted, throwing his hand out. The discharge pokémon's hair stood straight on end as it charged up the necessary amount of electricity to effectively use thunder, all while pelipper was using stockpile. It then released all of the electricity in a concentrated blast directed at pelipper, who was still stockpiling when the attack launched.

The pelican pokémon, upon being hit with thunder, cried out as the electricity aggressively flowed through its body. It then fell to the ground, crashing onto the dirt battlefield, defeated.

"Pelipper is unable to battle, manectric wins! Melinda will now send out her final pokémon!" The judge declared.

"Raichu, you're up!" Melinda commanded. "Alright Niko, speed vs speed. Let's do this."

"I'm game. Manectric, quick attack!"

"Raichu, quick attack!" Melinda commanded. The two electric pokémon slammed into one another, with raichu then flipping forward and slamming an iron tail on manectric's head, knocking the discharge pokémon face-first into the ground. "Iron tail again!"

Raichu spun around again, this time slapping manectric with its steel-coated tail. The discharge pokémon rolled to the side, also unable to move.

"What the…" Niko asked bemusedly. _Manectric can't get paralyzed, can it?_

"Static, Niko," Melinda explained. "Just like lightning rod is manectric's ability, static is raichu's. Any pokémon that comes in contact with it has a chance of getting temporarily paralyzed."

 _So that's why she kept using iron tail…and not volt tackle. Smart_. Niko thought. "Manectric, use shock wave!"

"Conduct it with iron tail and then slam it into manectric!" Melinda commanded. Raichu turned around and stuck its tail out, allowing it to conduct the blue lightning from shock wave. Raichu then faced manectric again, who was still on the ground, and charged forward, slamming iron tail into manectric once more. Raichu then backed away for a moment before using quick attack to then defeat manectric.

"Manectric is unable to battle, raichu wins! Niko will now send out his final pokémon!"

 _Oh, no…_ Niko said, his confidence waning quickly. "Glalie, you're up buddy!" He said, putting on a brave face for his ice type pokémon. "Use ice beam!"

"Raichu, volt tackle through the ice beam!" Melinda commanded. The mouse pokémon rushed forward at its new opponent, its body glowing with yellow electricity. It then rushed forward and slammed into the face pokémon, knocking it backwards, albeit not into the ground. "Now, iron tail!"

"Protect, glalie!" Niko shouted. _I won't lose this. Not now, not to Melinda. We're too close to victory_. The face pokémon conjured a protective shield around itself, disallowing the steel type move from landing. "Now, crunch!"

Glalie floated forward and crashed its teeth on raichu's tail. As it was about to fling it into the ground below, Melinda commanded raichu to use thunderbolt, which landed almost instantaneously, electrocuting glalie and freeing raichu from the crunch attack. The mouse pokémon then landed safely on its feet, looking back up at the already severely weakened face pokémon.

"Glalie, we can do this. As long as we beat raichu, we win. It's all on you, buddy," Niko said calmly. "I believe in you."

Glalie then opened its maw and released a larger ice beam than usual, using every bit of energy it had left on this single move.

Melinda saw this, and smirked. "Raichu, let's end this. Volt tackle!"

"Rai rai rai rai rai rai-chu!" Raichu shouted as it shot forward at glalie like a locomotive. It got hit with the ice beam, but that didn't deter it. It resumed with a second volt tackle, this time landing successfully, albeit not with as much force. Glalie crashed into the ground, struggling to get back up.

Despite Niko's attempts at encouragement, however, glalie didn't get back up.

"Glalie is unable to battle, raichu wins! The victory goes to Melinda from Littleroot Town!" The judge declared, waving a white flag in Melinda's direction.

"Return, glalie," Niko said, looking up at Melinda and, with a sincere smile, nodded and walked back through the tunnel from whence he came.

* * *

Niko walked into the dining hall to meet with his friends and family, all of whom were sitting there waiting for him. Even Wally, who stayed to watch Niko through to the end, was there.

JJ was the first to approach Niko. "Sorry bud," He said with a slight frown. Niko nodded with a smile before sitting down next to Brittany and across from his parents.

"How're you feeling, Niko?" His Mom asked, looking slightly worried.

"I'm just fine," Niko replied with a laugh. "Honestly, I'm just fine!" Everyone looked at him with skeptical looks.

"What happened out there?" JJ asked, much to Niko's confusion. "You had such a wide lead on Melinda, how did she close it so fast?"

"Her Pelipper. And my poor decision-making," Niko said simply. "Thinking about it now, if I had made a few other decisions on who to use, I could've beaten her."

"But you still battled really well, Niko," Brittany said, trying to ignore JJ's comment and reassure her friend. "Melinda just did a little better."

"Yeah, I know. I hope my pokémon aren't too hung up over it," Niko said honestly. He figured at least glalie would feel bad for letting the entire team—and its trainer—down by losing to raichu. Niko expected to have a talk with it later.

Lunch went by in relative silence, with Niko not saying much, instead lost in his own thoughts while his friends continued talking. Images of his battle with Melinda raced through his mind. Eventually, so did every other memory he had with her. After lunch, the group and Niko's parents walked back to watch the semifinals and final matches.

As it turned out, Melinda lost in the semifinals to a guy in dark shades with a powerful metagross and claydol, among other pokémon. That trainer went on to win the entire tournament, and was given the large golden cup by President Goodshow with Steven and Wallace in attendance.

* * *

Niko sat out on the lake's edge once again. His pokémon, having finished resting in the Pokémon Center, sat out with him. He decided to give himself some alone time before his trip back to Pallet Town with his friends and parents. For the most part, he and his pokémon sat in silence. Naturally, they all felt bad about the loss.

"Hey, you all," Niko said, attracting the attention of his six pokémon. "I didn't lose because of you. I didn't lose because you all weren't strong enough. I lost because I made a couple errors in my judgement. So, don't beat yourselves up about it.

"In fact, I'm more proud of you six than anything. On this journey, each of you challenged me in a new way. Like, for example, aggron: when you were first an aron, you weren't very fast. But you showed me how to battle defensively, especially when you evolved into lairon. It helped me better train glalie when it was trying to learn protect.

"Numel, you gave me the hardest training experience I've had in a while. Did you know that you're the first fire type I've ever caught?" Numel, usually asleep during these talks, was uncharacteristically awake and paying attention, and was surprised by this. "Yeah. JJ, Brittany, and my friend Fay all caught fire types before and had no issue training them. But you gave me so many problems, but I eventually learned that you just had a different way of training and battling. You relied on incentive to train, which I never had to think about. Glalie—you were afraid of water at first. How the hell do I deal with that!?" Glalie laughed a little as Niko's expression of wonder, which came across as comical. "But we worked together to get you through it, and I couldn't be prouder of you for that. I've also learned about the concept of balance in a battle, and I've learned how to double battle, all because of you six.

"My point is, I couldn't have gotten this far without you. Every day I'm amazed at your work ethic, your integrity, and your courage in battle. You've surprised me with what you can do in every battle we're in, and I'm proud to call myself your trainer. Honestly," A tear appeared under Niko's eye, but he batted it away quickly. Sceptile and manectric then sat next to Niko on both sides. The forest pokémon laid an arm around Niko in an embrace, and manectric curled up next to Niko's left leg.

They all sat there for several minutes before another person sat down next to sceptile. Niko leaned over to see Melinda sitting there.

"Hello," She said politely.

"Oh, err, hi," Niko said. Sceptile got up and moved out of the way, clearing space for Melinda and Niko to more directly address one another.

"How're you feeling?"

"Better, that's for sure," Niko said with a sigh. "You?"

"Doing alright. This was my first Pokémon League. I'm happy with how I did. Are you?"

"It's the second time I've made it to the quarterfinals. So yeah, I'm satisfied with it. My pokémon are, now at least."

"That was a good battle we had back there," Melinda said calmly, looking directly at Niko, who nodded in return. "I'm being honest—it was one of the better battles I've had."

"I know you're being honest. You always are," Niko said plainly, looking out onto the water. "So…" He said, thinking of other things to talk about. "You're from Littleroot Town?"

"Yeah, when we first met I was actually on my way there. That's where my, err, parents live."

"You hesitated," Niko said curtly.

"Yeah, I did," Melinda said, still looking at Niko, who motioned her to continue. "Oh! Well, I just hadn't seen them in a while. In fact, meeting you gave me something to talk about."

"Really now?" Niko asked, surprised. "I'm not that interesting."

"Well, I think you are," Melinda said, looking out onto the water as well. "I mean, think about it. You're from a faraway land, you're an experience pokémon battler. You've gone on adventures and seen things that I've just never had the chance to see! Niko, you made my life more interesting! You gave it some meaning!"

"I highly doubt that," Niko said, shrugging.

"You yourself just said that I'm always honest," Melinda said, slightly irritated. "So, believe me. You encouraged me to take on the gym challenge. It was because of you that I met so many new pokémon. It was _you_ that got me here, and it was _you_ that got me to the semifinals," Niko looked at Melinda with a peculiar look. "Okay, you got me there in more ways than one. You get my point though, right?"

"I guess so…" Niko said. His pokémon were still there, watching the conversation unfold.

"Listen, if you've been bothered by what I said in Sootopolis, I'm truly sorry," Melinda said, placing her soft, warm hand on Niko's shoulder. "I mean that."

"I know you do," Niko said, looking over at her with a smile. "My feelings were very confused and cloudy."

"Have you ever expressed interest in a woman before?" Melinda asked, genuinely curious.

"Not in a long time. Usually just infatuation, but nothing more than that. With you it was a little more, but I still didn't know much about you. And still don't today."

"Well, you can always ask me anything," Melinda said, rubbing Niko's back. They sat at the lake's edge for nearly half an hour, shifting between periods of silence and engaged conversation.

* * *

Niko packed up his bags in his suite the next morning alongside Jake, Brittany, and JJ. They were heading back to Pallet Town with Fay and Niko's parents. The trip would take a couple days, but it would be worthwhile rest for all four of them. None of them considered their plans once they got back to Pallet Town, least of all Niko. But they didn't need to figure that out immediately. The future would find them first.

The last thing Niko did before departing for Ever Grande's harbor was deliver Steven's key for the boat. The ex-champion commented on a job well done for Niko, and hoped to see what his future held for him. Niko—and his friends—all thanked Steven for helping them out on their journey. As they were walking towards the ship bound for Kanto, Niko heard his voice. Turning around, he saw Wally running towards him.

"Wally?" Niko asked. The green hair atop Wally's head bobbed in the wind as he ran over and embraced Niko in a hug.

"Thanks for everything, Niko," Wally said. "You've inspired me to continue becoming the best trainer I can be. I'm going to miss you."

"I'm gonna miss you too, Wally. Keep it up. You're going to be a great pokémon battler one day."

"I hope so. Next time we meet, I want to challenge you to a rematch!" Wally held out his hand. Niko clasped it vigorously.

"You're on," Niko said before saying farewell to Wally and boarding the ship with his friends and parents, their journey in Hoenn finally coming to a close.

* * *

 **Author's note: So...that's it! Niko's journey in Hoenn comes to an end! There's still one more wrap-up episode, and then we'll move on the Season 4. I hope you enjoyed this battle. There were parts of it where I got stuck, regarding how to make a certain battle work or what have you, but I think it came out alright. Hope you think so as well!**


	58. Two brothers, two paths

**Episode 58: Two brothers, two paths**

 _Three months later_

The first thing Niko saw when he woke up was the bright sun soaking through the curtains in his room. Groggily forcing himself to sit up on his bed, he looked around his room for a moment before fully waking up and getting started with his day. Walking past his three badge cases—from Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn—he got dressed and walked downstairs to find Jake already up and training with his pokémon.

The past few months provided a much-needed vacation for Niko. After the lengthy journey through the Hoenn region, Niko returned to Kanto exhausted. Brittany, Jake, and JJ largely felt the same, and returned to their usual summer routine, where JJ would help out with his family and visit Maizie occasionally. Brittany returned home to Vermillion, but spent a significant amount of time in Pallet Town, usually staying with Niko and Jake. Fay continued with his research, and Niko and Jake hung around at home, helping when needed, but spent most of the time caring for their pokémon.

Now with 16 total pokémon, Niko certainly had his hands full. He spent most of his time at home hanging around his pokémon. Once he got back, he received an instant hug from magneton and delibird, both of whom missed him dearly. Feraligatr and venusaur greeted him casually, but nonetheless clearly expressed that they also missed their trainer. Niko introduced his Hoenn team to his other pokémon, and for the most part they seemed to get along. Sceptile and feraligatr became fast friends, and would often practice battling against one another for fun. Numel mostly spent time on its own, usually sleeping. Occasionally delibird would pull a "prank" on the numb pokémon by throwing presents at it, in which numel retaliated with a lazily shot ember to the delivery pokémon's tail.

Naturally, swellow would spend time with pidgeot and noctowl, the latter two having become close friends during Niko's absence. Manectric would usually sit around as well, but did enjoy magneton's company, as well as shellder's. Glalie and aggron usually stuck with Niko, but when he was away wouldn't do much. Aggron liked to lay under the trees and watch the other pokémon play. Since it was far larger than most of the others, it didn't get involved in games very often. In all, Niko was pleased to see his pokémon getting along so well. He remembered being worried once or twice, but now his fears seemed allayed.

One day, Niko took Fay up on his offer to battle. One weekend day in the middle of summer, only days before Brittany would be returning, the two decided to battle out in the fields of Professor Oak's lab. It was to be a one-on-one battle, and Fay was eager to show off one of the new pokémon he had.

"Alright Niko, you ready?" Fay asked, pulling a pokéball out of the pocket of his khaki pants.

"Of course, I am," Niko said, turning to his pokémon, all of whom seemed interested in watching. "Err…yanma, come on over," Niko said, beckoning the clear wing pokémon. "Don't worry guys, I'm not choosing favorites or anything. Alright Fay, whatcha got for me?"

"This. Gible, I choose you!" Fay shouted, summoning a small blue pokémon with a massive mouth, no neck, and small, stubby arms. It had a red underbelly and two horns that resemble jet engines with a dorsal fin on the top of its head.

"It's so cute, Fay!" Niko said in admiration. "Where'd you get it?"

"The Sinnoh region. Same place Wally's gallade is from."

"Wait, what?"

"Sorry, I mean gallade's species is found in the Sinnoh region. Not _his_ gallade in particular. Anyways, yeah, I was with Professor Rowan—the regional professor there—and I caught it. It's dragon type, too!"

"Oh, wow!" Niko said in awe. "Yanma, think we can take this?" The bug type buzzed with approval. "Alright then! Use quick attack and wing attack combo!"

"Gible, dragon rage!" Fay commanded. The tiny land shark pokémon released a large ball of purple fire that collided with yanma, who ran through the attack and slammed into gible with quick wing attack, knocking it over. "Now, sandstorm!"

Gible stretched its arms out and whipped up a powerful sandstorm around the field before digging a hole in the ground. Confused, Niko commanded yanma to use sonicboom into the hole, but nothing happened. Moments later, gible popped out from under yanma and launched a dragon rage upwards, hitting the clear wing pokémon in the stomach.

"Yanma, use double team and sonicboom!" Niko commanded. The bug type duplicated itself several times before generating a burst of sonic energy that hit gible, knocking it down. Yanma winced—the sandstorm was clearly effecting it. "Now, use quick wing attack!"

"Gible, dragon rage!" Fay shouted. The land shark shot out another burst of purple fire, but yanma evaded it skillfully, spinning to the side of the attack and riding inches away from the flames before slamming into gible. Its attack collided with gible hard enough to knock the dragon pokémon out.

"Gible is unable to battle, yanma wins!" JJ, who was acting as the judge, declared.

Fay walked over and helped gible up. "Hey gibs, you did a great job. Niko and yanma are just really strong," Gible nodded, seeming to understand. "I see yanma hasn't changed much," Fay commented as he stood back up.

"Nah, same old, same old. And still proud of it," Niko said, rubbing the top of yanma's head. "And that gible is something for sure. Are they rare in Sinnoh?"

"Kind of, yeah. There aren't many places where they're found naturally. I was just lucky enough to come across one."

"Well, thanks for the battle, Fay. I really enjoyed it. We should do it again sometime!"

Fay nodded. "Indeed. Now, let's go grab some food, yeah?" Niko and JJ, both famished, quickly nodded, and the three ran off to find something to eat.

* * *

The thing one everyone's mind, however, was what to do next. Did they want to stay in Kanto for a while, or continue on to another land? Niko certainly did. He wanted to get better at battling and meet and compete against new pokémon. The question then was: where to go?

After a couple months of staying around Pallet Town, Niko took an opportunity to gather his friends, timing it when Brittany would be in town. They all met at JJ's family's store, and sat around. Fay didn't show up, as he was working, and thus wouldn't be joining them on their next adventure.

JJ was cleaning off the register when Niko and Brittany walked in. "Oh, hey beedrill!" Niko said with a frightened tone. He then looked down to see growlithe jumping up and placing its paws on Niko's legs, begging for attention. "And hello to you too, growlithe," Niko said while he pet the puppy pokémon. "What's up, JJ?"

"Oh, uh nothing, just cleaning."

"Sounds fun. Bored?" Niko asked in a teasing tone, eliciting a slight chuckle from Brittany.

"Actually, yeah. It's been a slow day. I feel like every summer I'm just stuck here babysitting the place, since for whatever reason no one stops by!"

"Maybe you should just start your own business," Niko suggested. "Then you'd probably have more control, right?"

"Yeah, probably. But I would get to travel around with you guys. Speaking of which…" JJ walked into the backroom of the store and pulled out a couple of folding chairs and placed them behind the register. "Here you are, if you want to sit down."

Brittany took one of the folding chairs, but Niko just leaned against the wall behind the register. The three were silent for a few moments, the only sounds coming from beedrill and bayleef arguing about something in pokémon language, and umbreon and growlithe trying to rectify the problem.

"Well, I guess we should first see if we all want to continue travelling," Brittany posed to the group. Niko and JJ both silently nodded. "That was quick, but I just wanted to clear the air there."

"Is it just going to be us three?" JJ asked.

"I could ask Jake if he wants to join, but I think we should come up with something first," Niko suggested.

"Sounds like a good idea, actually," Brittany added. "I liked having Jake around."

Niko nodded with a faint smile. "Yeah, it was nice. But he's been itching to leave again, so I can imagine it'd be a yes for him."

"That still doesn't answer the question of where to go," JJ said, creating a silence amongst the three of them. It didn't take long for Niko to speak up: the answer immediately came to him.

"Sinnoh."

"Sinnoh?" Brittany and JJ said simultaneously.

"Yeah, Sinnoh," Niko repeated. "Both Fay and Wally have pokémon that are native to that region. I don't know how far it is, for anything about it, but Fay's been there, and unless either of you have any suggestions, I think we should give it a shot."

Brittany and JJ were both silent, suggesting a lack of other options. They then both nodded in agreement with Niko.

"I think we should do it. Who knows, maybe they have contests again?" Brittany wondered, looking at JJ.

"I don't know if I'll continue with contests, to be honest," JJ replied. "I should be focusing more on becoming a breeder. But I will definitely be there to help you out when you need it," Brittany looked at JJ with an admiring smile before turning to Niko.

"Yeah, let's do it. We should talk to Fay first."

"And I need to talk to Jake, too," Niko said before getting up.

"We can all go together," Brittany suggested, turning to JJ, who nodded.

"Yeah, I'll just close up the shop. No one's freakin' coming here anyways," He said halfheartedly, walking them out and closing up the shop with his pokémon still there. "If there's any intruders—if there is even anything of value in this damn place—the pokémon can fend it off I think."

The three walked across town to Niko's house, where Jake was in the back playing with his pokémon. Mudkip had recently evolved into marshtomp during a practice battle against Niko, and it was now working on honing its new mud shot attack. After some small talk with Niko's mother and father, both of whom were sitting on the back porch watching Jake train with his pokémon, Niko walked down into the backyard to approach his brother.

"Hey Jake, what're you up to?" Niko asked, "Hey marshtomp!"

"Marsh!" The mud fish pokémon said excitedly.

"Hey Niko, just training here. Marshtomp is definitely getting the hang of mud shot I think," Jake said observantly. "What're you guys up to?"

"We actually just had a talk about where we want to go next."

"Oh, really?" Jake said with surprise. "Where to?"

"The Sinnoh region," Niko replied. "You in?"

Jake was silent for a moment. He looked back down at marshtomp, and then at his parents, and finally at Niko. He then tilted his head in the direction of their parents and the two brothers walked over to the back porch.

"What's up, son?" Their Dad asked, looking slightly concerned.

"So, I've been thinking about this for a while now, and I think I want to go take on the gym challenge in Kanto," Jake said, rather sheepishly. "I know I'm young, but after travelling with Niko for the past year, I think I'm ready!"

The other three family members were silent for a moment until Niko finally spoke.

"Do it, Jake," He said, patting his brother on the back. "Compete in the Indigo League, and win it for me, alright?"

Jake's eye lit up at the comment. He then nodded vigorously. "Of course, I will! Marshtomp, seedot, trapinch, and I are going to win it all!" He then turned to his parents, both of whom had smiles on their faces.

"We knew this day would come," Their Mom said. "But we agree with Niko. You're ready. But you need to call us whenever you reach a new town or city, got it?"

"I promise, Mom," Jake said with a laugh. "So, I guess I won't be going to Sinnoh with you, Niko."

"You're going to Sinnoh?" Niko's Dad asked, receiving a nod in return.

"We just decided to. No idea when we'll leave, but it's probably going to happen," Niko explained.

"Well, we both think you should," Mom replied. "You want to be a Pokémon Master, Niko. We both support that wholeheartedly."

"Just win this next one, alright?" Dad said teasingly.

"I will. Just for you, Dad," Niko said, walking over and hugging both of his parents. He then turned around and gave a thumbs-up to Brittany and JJ, who were playing around with Jake's pokémon. "Alright, we should both go visit Professor Oak, then."

* * *

Oak's lab was the same as it was every summer: filled with shelves full of books and other knick-knacks. As they walked towards Oak's office, they saw Fay exiting.

"What's up guys?" Fay asked. Niko then explained their next journey, with seemed to impress Fay. "So, Sinnoh for you three, and Kanto for Jake? Excellent. You guys will love Sinnoh. The gyms there seem strong, Niko, so you best be prepared."

"I will be," Niko said decisively. Fay nodded and returned back to his desk to continue his research. "Professor?" Niko said, knocking on the open door. The elderly man in a lab coat turned around in his spinning chair and smiled warmly.

"Niko! Brittany! JJ! Jake! What a pleasure! What can I do for your four?"

"Well, a couple of thing. First off, Jake here is interested in entering the Indigo League and will be staring his own adventure," Niko said, placing both of his hands on his brother's shoulders. "And JJ, Brittany, and I will be going to Sinnoh."

"Oh, Sinnoh? Wonderful place. Fay and I were there only six months ago or so. I was visiting my colleague Professor Rowan, who took Fay out to do some field work. If you're really planning on going there, I will shoot him a message letting him know of your arrival. He can help get you settled there and register you for the Sinnoh League, Niko," Oak then turned to his computer and typed something into the browser. "Alright, so there is a ship leaving from Vermillion City to Sandgem Town in two days. Well, actually there's a layover on one of the Sevii Islands, since Sandgem Town isn't very large and doesn't have a big port, only small ships pass through it. But you'd get there in a couple days, I believe. It's a faraway region, Sinnoh. Not as far as some of the others that I've seen trainers travel to."

"Thank you so much, Professor!" Niko said. He turned back to his friends. "Well? You guys ready?"

Brittany and JJ nodded. "I just need to tell my parents. Actually, do you both want to stay in Vermillion until then? I'm sure my parents would be alright with it, and it'd be easier for us to leave from there."

JJ and Niko nodded. "Works for me, we can get packed and leave tomorrow. Sound good?" Niko suggested. The other two nodded again in concurrence while Oak was getting Jake set up. The younger brother elected to leaving in a couple of days.

* * *

The following morning, Niko sat down at the family table with Jake and his parents and had his last breakfast before heading off to Sinnoh. The four talked about small, mostly logistical matters. A lot of the conversation centered around Niko giving Jake advice on travelling through Kanto, based on his experiences with Fay, JJ, and Brittany. He also said that he could contact Niko whenever he needed to through JJ's pokénav, which now had a calling app on it.

The last thing Niko did before leaving was say good-bye to his pokémon. Like with Hoenn, he planned on going solo again, since it seemed to work well in Hoenn. As usual, some of the pokémon were upset, but most of the veterans on Niko's team understood. It was the Hoenn pokémon that took it the hardest, particularly aggron and glalie.

"Don't worry guys, I'm going to be back. And who knows, maybe I can call on you when I get to the Sinnoh League. And I'll call occasionally so you can see that I'm still alive," Niko said with some humor in his tone. He hugged glalie and aggron to reassure them, pet manectric, and shook sceptile's hand. The two locked eyes for a moment and, just like with venusaur and feraligatr, Niko felt the strong, understanding connection with his starter pokémon. He turned to look at numel, who pretended not to care, but definitely did. So, Niko crouched down and patted the numb pokémon on the head. "I'm going to miss you a lot too, numel," Niko said. Numel looked up and shed a tear, but shook its head vigorously in hopes that Niko wouldn't notice.

Standing back up, he turned to his parents, JJ, and Brittany. The latter two decided to bring most of their pokémon. JJ opted for leaving bayleef back at the shop with beedrill, saying that he hoped to return to see both of them alive (as opposed to killing each other).

Niko walked up and hugged his parents before turning to Jake. "Kick ass out there. I'll be rooting for you."

Jake shook his brother's hand. "And same to you. Safe travels, Niko."

Niko nodded and, turning to JJ and Brittany, walked over to Professor Oak's car and drove off with Fay. Oak decided to drive them since he had something he wanted to accomplish in the port town of Vermillion City.

"Well guys, off to Sinnoh!" Niko said, throwing his arms around both Brittany and JJ, who repeated the same thing as they drove off into the morning sun, with their hopes high and minds open to what would cross their paths in the coming year.

* * *

 **Author's note: WOW! Season 3 is finally done! I hope you liked it. Hoenn is one of my personal favorites, with Sinnoh also a favorite of mine. Now, this season was in some ways a set up for Season 4, which will delve a bit more into Niko's character, and set him up for his second major character arc. I have a lot planned for the Sinnoh-based season, so get ready for that. It'll probably start in a couple of days, I think, so be on the lookout for it if you're interested.**

 **As usual, special thanks to those who have followed this story and/or favorited it: Eeveefan1290, Light Flame Blast, Pokemaster3164, Prince Edward, Zeus 007, herefordsnowmad12, Athios, Blaster Blade X, and Poosa-ard. It's people like you that give me a reason to keep posting this (otherwise, i'd just write it for myself and no eye's would ever see it besides my own!).**

 **Later y'all!**


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